Library: ENGL C1000 (Hagen) FA25: Home

Welcome to the Library!

Questions? Email Stacey

Spelling counts! Not seeing many results? Double-check your spelling.
Try "Phrase Searching" - Place quotation marks around keywords to keep them together.
- Example: "social media" "echo chambers"
Use AND to combine terms.
- Example: "filter bubbles" AND algorithms
Apply Truncation (shift + 8 to get the asterisk) to search multiple word variations.
- Example: algorithm* searches algorithm, algorithms, and algorithmic
Grow your keywords in abstracts, article titles, and subjects.

1. Preliminary Topic: How has technology positively and/or negatively impacted our lives and/or relationships with one another?

2. Select a Focus Example: Social media algorithms

3. Brainstorming Keywords: Before diving into research, create a list of synonyms and related terms.

Information & Engagement - Information exposure, content engagement, ideological division, public opinion
Algorithmic Influence - Personalization, content curation, recommendation systems
Social & Political Effects - Disinformation, misinformation, algorithmic bias, social media addiction, filter bubbles, echo chambers, polarization

Now that you've explored the topic, refine your research question and keywords.

Research Question: How do social media algorithms influence our interactions online?

Main Concept: "social media" AND algorithms

Possible Research Aspects:

Example Search: "social media" AND algorithms AND disinformation

Gale eBooks (GVRL Encyclopedias)
Great for background research! Contains eBooks, encyclopedias, and specialized sources for research in almost all subjects.

EBSCOhost : All Databases
Cross-search all EBSCO databases (50+); our largest collection of magazines, journals, ebooks, news sources, primary sources, and more!

Opposing Viewpoints (Gale In Context)
A social issues database with full-text periodical articles, viewpoint essays, reference material, statistics, topic overviews and websites.

Copy the Citation Chart into a Google Doc or Word file.
Find 10 Potential Sources relevant to your essay.
Locate MLA Citations using database citation tools. Double-check citations with our MLA Style Guide.
Add Permalinks for sources found in library databases.
Write Notes on why each source is useful or how you might use it.
(Optional): Add up to 5 extra sources in case you need alternatives.