Notes from CMPL Guest Speakers on March 1

To begin:

Go to cmpl.org.  If you have a login/library card number, click on “My Account” and log in.  This will give you access to everything on the library site.  If you don’t have a login, you can still use many of the library services, including most research databases.

To do research:

Click on “Research.”  Under “Advanced Research Databases,” use the drop-down to choose the database you want to search based on the topic you are searching.  Once you pick a database, remember to search using KEYWORDS, not sentences - you will get a better result that way.

“MeL” (Michigan eLibrary) and “ERIC” are good for scholarly sources like academic journals.  “InfoTrac Student Edition” and “Britannica School - High” are good for magazines and newspapers, as well as academic journals.  There are many, many databases to choose from, but they should all give you good, reputable, scholarly sources that you can use for your research and Senior Project essay.

Once you open an article from any of the CMPL databases, you will find a toolbar on the right side of the page to help you.  Tools include citations, the ability to print or download articles, and the ability to highlight text and save notes about your highlighted sections.

If you need to pick a topic (also helpful for researching):

On the Research tab, use the drop-down and pick “Opposing Viewpoints.”  Once there, click on “Browse Issues.”  This brings you to a list of possible topics.  Clicking on any of these will bring you to a dedicated page of information, sources, and links about that topic.  

OR

On the Research tab, use the drop-down and pick “InfoTrac Student Edition.”  Once there, click on “Topic Finder.”  This brings you to a search box that then gives you a chart (wheel or tiles) of increasingly narrowed topics related to the broad topic you search for.  Clicking on any of these will bring up a list of articles that could work for your research.