AAAS/RL ST 146, Sec.1: The Life & Thought of Martin Luther King, Jr.

• Look at your syllabus for topic ideas
• Try These First is a list of databases that are good to use to start your research
• Use The CAT [Penn State Libraries' online catalog] to locate books, journals, magazines, newspapers, and online sources for information about your topic.
• Talk with your instructor or librarian

What kind of information/materials are you looking for?

• Books
• Scholarly journal articles
• Newspaper articles
• Statistics
• Government information
• Laws and Legal Sources

Use identified keywords to find encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference works. These will provide background information and overviews of a topic.

To find encyclopedias and other reference works, general books and other formats, use "Advanced Search" in The CAT and limit your search to format, year, library, etc.

Online Encyclopedias: available under Find Articles and Databases > Databases by Title [A-Z]:

• Oxford African American Studies Center
• Gale Virtual Reference Library
• American National Biography
• Biography and Genealogy Master Index

Use identified keywords to find general books and other materials in The CAT [Penn State Libraries' online catalog].

• Cite at least two books published by a University Press

The following indexes and databases are available through the Libraries' Databases by Title [A-Z] list:

• America: History and Life
• Race Relations Abstracts
• JSTOR
• Sociological Abstracts
• Project MUSE
• International Index to Black Periodicals
• Ethnic NewsWatch
• Worldwide Political Science Abstracts

Newspapers can provide context as well as important information about your topic. See the Libraries' Research Guide: Newspapers and News Sources for resources to access news content online and in the Libraries.

The following resources are available through the Libraries' Databases by Title [A-Z] list:

• CQ Almanac
• LexisNexis Congressional
• CQ Electronic Library [includes CQ Weekly, CQ Researcher, and CQ Congress Collection]
• Congressional Research Service Reports
• LexisNexis Statistical
• Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

• Westlaw Campus
• Gale Virtual Reference Library [search by subject "law"]
• Index to Legal Periodicals

• African American Studies
• African American History
• Political Science
• Sociology
• Women's Studies

Use RefWorks, a citation software and bibliographic management tool, to cite your work.

Instructor:
Dr. Charles Lumpkins

Librarians: Sylvia Nyana amd Helen Sheehy