Finding Academic Sources

Before diving into databases, develop a search strategy. Start with background reading to understand your topic's key concepts, terminology, and major debates. Encyclopedias, textbooks, and review articles provide valuable context and often include references to seminal works in the field.

Identify your keywords—the terms experts use to discuss your topic. These may differ from everyday language. A medical researcher searches for "myocardial infarction," not "heart attack." Use your initial readings to discover field-specific vocabulary.

Google Scholar is a powerful free tool, but it requires strategy. Link it to your institution's library to see full-text access options. Use quotation marks for exact phrases and the minus sign to exclude irrelevant terms. The "Cited by" feature reveals how other researchers have built on a source.

Set up alerts for your research topics to receive notifications when new relevant papers are published. Use the "Related articles" feature to discover similar research you might have missed. Remember that Google Scholar indexes broadly—not everything it finds is peer-reviewed or high-quality.

Your library is more than a building with books—it's a gateway to millions of resources. Schedule a meeting with a subject librarian who specializes in your field; they can recommend databases, search strategies, and key sources you won't find on your own.

Use interlibrary loan when your library doesn't have a source. Most institutions can obtain books and articles from other libraries within days. Don't limit your research to what's immediately available—the best sources might require a short wait.

Explore your library's research guides, often organized by subject or course. These curated resources save time by pointing you directly to the most relevant databases and sources for your discipline.

One of the most effective research strategies is following citation trails. When you find a useful source, examine its reference list—it points to the research that informed it. Then look at who has cited that source—revealing how the conversation has developed.

This bidirectional approach helps you identify foundational works in your field (heavily cited older sources) and cutting-edge research (recent sources building on established work). It also reveals the scholarly networks and debates that shape your topic.