Database Jigsaw
Helpful "starting point" Databases
- Academic Search Complete (Ebsco) This link opens in a new windowNews (reporting and opinion), magazine, and research articles from thousands of publications, searchable in one location.
- CQ Researcher This link opens in a new windowContains reports providing overviews of major policy issues. The reports are designed to provide a full briefing on the topic from background, pros/cons, maps/charts, and links to relevant resources.
- Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) This link opens in a new windowProvides access to the fulltext of various encyclopedias and reference works. For example, a search for “oil spills” will result in entries from an environmental encyclopedia, a disasters reference book, and others.
- Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new windowresearch and background information on social issues.
LionSearch Basics
- LionSearch This link opens in a new windowan integrated search of books, e-books, research articles, newspaper articles, and other publications.
For full text items, click the "full text online" link to go to the full text of the article.
- If you see the Penn State "GetIt" menu and you need to click the word "article" to get to the full text.
- If there is no "article" link, click the word "journal" to get to the journal page and look for the correct year, volume, issue and pages for the article you need.
Tip: Save the relevant sources into the LionSearch temporary folder by clicking on the small folder icon to right side of the item. When you are finished compiling your sources, click on the folder icon at the top of the screen and email or print (which allows you to copy into your clipboard) the references so you can easily add them to your project.
CAVEAT: computer systems make mistakes when auto-formatting.
- Citation and Writing GuidesDouble check your final paper against the appropriate Citation Style!
Don’t lose your work! Unless you sign up for Refworks, items are saved in LionSearch ONLY for your current session. You won’t be able to go back later and see a list of saved items.
