To start researching your topic, or to get ideas of what you might want to research further, use these two databases. Both contain both popular and scholarly sources on all ranges of issues in contemporary society. You can browse the topics to get ideas or search your specific topic to find information. 

Things to keep in mind: 

- publication dates! Look for more recent articles. These databases contain information from many decades, but you will want to most likely look at the more recent articles. 

- references! Your job is to get as close to the original source of information as possible. That is what you will cite in your work. 

To get historical or background information on your topic, considering using this database. It is a online encyclopedia with resources on all kinds of issues. 

You can also try searching from the Libraries' home page for more information on your topics, including newspaper articles, which are one of the more timely credible resources available. Use the FIND Books, Articles, and More tab to get started. 

These results will be broken down into books and media, journal articles, newspaper and magazine articles, and results from the libraries website.

Journal articles will be comprised of scholarly sources, whereas newspaper and magazine articles are considered popular sources.

You should look at your assignment requirements carefully to be sure you are considering what types of sources you need for the assignment before choosing your sources. Are you required to use scholarly sources? If so, you'll want to find a journal article, not a newspaper, magazine, or website. 

You can also use the link below to search the PSU Libraries' collection.