ECO 320 Course Guide: Library Research Guide

When searching the library's databases for articles, keep these tips in mind:

1) Use AND and OR to connect keywords: e.g., "gender gap" AND (income OR pay)

2) Search within specific publications like the Wall Street Journal or The Economist by adding them as keywords and limiting them to the Journal Title or Publication Title field

3) Limit by date to get recent articles

4) Watch for editorial or opinion pieces.  You can use these, but recognize that they only represent one perspective on the issue.

Don't just Google it!  The US government and international NGOs conduct good-quality research on policy issues.

To find reports written by government agencies, add the following to your Google search:

site:gov filetype:pdf

To find reports written by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), search the country name and the issue, then add the following to your Google search:

site:org filetype:pdf

Remember to evaluate any web sources using the ABC test.  If your source isn't relevant and/or doesn't meet all three criteria, you probably shouldn't use it!

• ABC Test

These databases can all be searched simultaneously.  Open Academic Search Premier, click on the Choose Databases link, checkmark some or all of the other three, and press OK.

If you need help finding sources or narrowing your topic, consider making an appointment with a Research Tutor at the Learning Center.

For our in-class activity, visit this Padlet and follow the instructions to comment on one of the articles.

Zotero is a free tool for managing your references, and creating citations and bibliographies in Microsoft Word or Google Docs.  It involves two components: the Zotero program itself, and a browser "connector" for adding items to your Zotero library.

For more information, see our Zotero 101 guide.