Module 1: Conducting Research - EAP1686 | Professor Porges-West - LibGuides at Miami Dade College Learning Resources

Quick Tips

Accessing the MDC Databases

Access the databases available on the MDC Learning Resources Library webpage by selecting Databases.
Search the databases by subject.
Try different keywords and add more than one in order to narrow down or focus the results.
Be sure to add the following filters to your searches, Full Text and Scholarly or Peer Reviewed when applicable.

Logging In

Researching

When conducting your search, remember the more keywords you use the more focused your search will be and you'll only have a few specific articles to look through rather than thousands.
Always select "Full Text" from the filters when available. This is usually located below the search fields where you enter your keywords.

Useful Tools

Take advantage of tools such as:
- E-mail to send articles to yourself so as not to lose them.
- Cite will generate a citation for the article in a variety of styles, including MLA. Simply copy and paste into your References.

Conducting Research

Research Strategies

Accessing MDC Databases

Searching the Library Catalog

Recommended Databases by Subject

Art & Architecture Source (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Art & Architecture Source covers a broad range of related subjects, from fine, decorative, and commercial art, to various areas of architecture and architectural design. Providing over 600 full-text journals, more than 220 full-text books, and a collection of over 63,0000 images, it is designed for use by a diverse audience, including art scholars, artists, designers, students, and general researchers.

Funded by: College (FLVC Group License)
Humanities Source (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Designed to meet the needs of students, researchers and educators interested in all aspects of the humanities. The collection includes full text for more than 1,400 journals, with citations to over 3.5 million articles, including book reviews. Coverage in Humanities Source includes worldwide content pertaining to literary, scholarly, and creative thought.

Funded by: Statewide Allocation

Biography (Gale in Context) (Gale) This link opens in a new window
(Gale) - online experience for those seeking contextual information on the world's most influential people. The new solution merges Gale's authoritative reference content (including Lives & Perspectives) with periodicals and multimedia organized into a user-friendly portal experience while also allowing users to search for people based on name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates and places, or gender, as well as keyword and full text.

Funded by: Statewide Allocation
Biography Index (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
(H.W. Wilson) - cites biographical articles appearing in any of more than 3,000 periodicals, plus some 2,000 current books of individual and collective biography published each year, and biographical material in otherwise non-biographical books. Besides biographies and autobiographies, it includes citations to interviews, obituaries, collections of letters, diaries, memoirs, juvenile literature, book reviews, bibliographies, and exhibition reviews. People covered range from antiquity to the present and represent all fields and nationalities.

Funded by: College (FLVC Group License)

MasterFILE Premier (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Designed specifically for public libraries, MasterFILE™ Premier contains full text for nearly 1,700 periodicals covering general reference, business, health, education, general science, multicultural issues, and much more. This database also contains full text for more than 500 reference books, over 107,000 primary source documents, and an Image Collection of over 510,000 photos, maps, and flags.

Funded by: Statewide Allocation

Academic OneFile (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Upgrade to General OneFile provides peer-reviewed, full-text articles from leading journals and reference sources. Includes coverage of the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and, other subjects.

Funded by: State Library of Florida
Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Academic Search Complete, designed specifically for academic institutions, is the world's most valuable and comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,300 journals and a total of 10,900 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1865, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format.

Funded by: Statewide Allocation
Opposing Viewpoints (Gale in Context) (Gale) This link opens in a new window
(Gale) - online experience for those seeking contextual information and opinions on hundreds of today's hottest social issues. Drawing on the acclaimed Greenhaven Press series, the new solution features continuously updated viewpoint articles, topic overviews, full-text magazines, academic journals, news articles, primary source documents, statistics, images, videos, audio files, and links to vetted websites organized into a user-friendly portal experience.

Funded by: Statewide Allocation
SIRS Researcher This link opens in a new window
(SIRS) - Integrated online access to full-text articles and Internet resources from SIRS reference databases by ProQuest - SIRS Researcher, SIRS Government Reporter, SIRS Renaissance and SIRS NetSelect.

Funded by: College (FLVC Group License)

CINAHL Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
The world's most comprehensive source of full-text for nursing & allied health journals, providing full text for more than 1,300 journals indexed in CINAHL. This authoritative file contains full text for many of the most used journals in the CINAHL index, with no embargo. CINAHL®Complete is the definitive research tool for all areas of nursing & allied health literature.

Funded by: Statewide Allocation

CQ Researcher Plus Archive (CQ Press) This link opens in a new window
(CQ Press) - Explores a single "hot" issue each week, ranging from social and teen issues to environment, health, education, and science. 44 reports produced each year, including four expanded reports. Includes charts, graphs, and sidebar articles. Also contains the complete archive of Editorial Research Reports—the venerable precursor to CQ Researcher—dating back to 1923 which includes over 3,000 in-depth reports

Funded by: Statewide Allocation
New York Times - Current (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Provides national and international news, opinion and commentary; published in a national and a New York metropolitan edition. Includes local & state news, science, sports, arts & entertainment, and business & finance news. Covers January 1, 1985 - Current.

Funded by: State Library of Florida
America's News (NewsBank) This link opens in a new window
(NewsBank) - More than 4,000 media sources including the new FIND A TOPIC search page function. Find current, diverse perspectives on topics related to controversial issues, the environment, health, education, science, the arts, literature, business, economics, criminal justice, and more from a variety of current and retrospective news media including newspapers, newswires, broadcast transcripts, blogs, periodicals, videos, and web-only content.

Funded by: Statewide Allocation
Florida News (NewsBank) This link opens in a new window
(NewsBank) - Explore Florida News Sources local news, events, and people. Search current and archived issues with full-color newspaper pages, full-text articles, and content only published online.

Funded by: Statewide Allocation
Miami Herald (NewsBank) This link opens in a new window
(NewsBank) - Explore Miami history through local news, events, and people with the Miami Herald Collection. Search current and archived issues with full-color newspaper pages, full-text articles, and content only published online.

Funded by: Statewide Allocation

Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
(EBSCO) - Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia database contains over 25,000 records, covering a wide range of topics. Full text and images are available.

Funded by: Statewide Allocation
Gale E-Books (Gale) This link opens in a new window
(Gale) - This product offers more than 85 reference sources including encyclopedias, series and more, allowing libraries to provide respected authoritative essays on varied topics from numerous subject areas. Users can search across a single eBook or an entire eBook collection.

Funded by: College and Statewide

GreenFILE (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
(EBSCO) - This resource offers a unique perspective on the positive and negative ways humans affect the environment. Drawing on the connection between the environment and disciplines such as agriculture, education, law, health and technology, GreenFILE serves as an informative resource for anyone concerned about the issues facing our planet. GreenFILE indexes scholarly and general interest titles, as well as government documents and reports. It contains nearly 300,000 records, full text for selected titles and searchable cited references for more than 200 titles.

Funded by: Statewide Allocation

Criminal Justice (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
(ProQuest) - Covers a wide variety of criminal justice topics, including corrections administration, law enforcement, social work, industrial security, drug rehabilitation, and criminal and family law. Full-text and image coverage for about 50 journals.

Funded by: Statewide Allocation
Daily Life Through History (ABC-CLIO) This link opens in a new window
(ABC CLIO) - Daily Life Online provides content from a vast number of reference works, monographs, and primary documents. Based on the landmark Greenwood Encyclopedia of Daily Life, Greenwood Daily Life Online is supported by an active publishing program to ensure an ever-expanding and updated content base.

Funded by: College (FLVC Group License)
DemographicsNow (Gale) This link opens in a new window
(Gale) - A comprehensive web-based solution offering up-to-date resources on demographics and extensive market level information.

Funded by: State Library of Florida
History Reference Center (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
(EBSCO) - History Reference Center offers full text from more than 750 history reference books & encyclopedias and cover-to-cover full text from nearly 60 history magazines. Further, the database contains 58,000 historical documents; 43,000 biographies of historical figures; more than 12,000 historical photos and maps; and 87 hours of historical film and video.

Funded by: Statewide Allocation

Films on Demand (Infobase Publishing) This link opens in a new window
Streaming video from large and small production companies covering a wide range of subjects to enhance college courses. These videos include public performance rights that allow them to be used in the educational setting.

Funded by: College (FLVC Group License)
Kanopy This link opens in a new window
Watch thousands of streaming films, documentaries and training videos. Kanopy’s award-winning collection includes PBS, Criterion Collection, New Day, California Newsreel, First Run Features, and hundreds of other leading producers -- on every topic imaginable.

Funded by: College