Research & Refine
Searching helps you define your topic! Once you begin considering an idea for your topic, do some searching. This will help you refine your topic idea and brainstorm ideas for finding the best sources.
Where do I start my search?
General Research Databases
These databases contain scholarly sources from a wide variety of academic disciplines. They can be helpful to see if your search terms are specific enough and to get a broad overview of the existing literature on your topic.
- ProQuest Central via NC LIVE This link opens in a new windowThe ultimate cross-disciplinary research tool, ProQuest Central brings together 30 of our most highly used databases to create the largest single academic research resource available today.
- Google Scholar (HPU-specific link) This link opens in a new windowUse this link to connect Google Scholar with HPU's collection of full-text journals. You will be asked for your HPU username and password if off-campus.
Subject-Specific Databases
These databases focus on particular areas of study. You can see the library's full list of over 200 available databases on our Databases A-Z page!
- MLA International Bibliography on EBSCO This link opens in a new windowProduced by the Modern Language Association, this resource provides access to scholarly journal articles, books and dissertations on the subjects of literature, language and linguistics, folklore, literary theory & criticism, and dramatic arts, as well as rhetoric and the teaching of language and literature.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowThis database provides access to historical coverage of scholarly journals in a wide range of disciplines. Coverage goes back to the first issue (some as far back as the 1800s), but does not include the most recent issues (usually last 3-5 years).
- Gale Literature via NC LIVE This link opens in a new windowArticles, critical essays, work and topic overviews, full-text works, and biographies covering authors, their works, and literary movements.
Background Information
Background information sources allow you to search encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other sources that can give you factual, historical, and background information on people, places, things, and ideas.
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new windowSearch individual or multiple online encyclopedias and dictionaries covering a wide range of subjects, from science to education to history.
- Credo Reference via NC LIVE This link opens in a new windowCredo is a database of background content, containing full-text entries to help learn the basics of any topic. Start your research here to focus your topic, find keywords and people, and discover more in-depth books and articles.
How do I refine my search?
Keywords and Search Terms
When searching for sources, pay attention to the language that the authors of those sources use. Many scholarly articles will have a list of associated keywords in the article itself. Databases will often associate sources with "subjects" that you can then use to search. Some databases will have a thesaurus or controlled vocabulary to further help you brainstorm.
Try Other Resources!
The reason why we subscribe to over 200 databases is because they all contain different, specific content. Try your search in another resource to see if you're missing anything.
Digging Deeper in Your Research
Once you've explored your topic, you may need to dive deeper into the library's resources. Use the 3 resources below to help get a fuller picture of your research topic.
Citation Searching
Citation Searching
Use the citations and/or references in sources you find to help you see the scholarly conversation surrounding your topic. Forward and backward searching are techniques you can use to do this:
Forward Searching
Which articles have cited the article you found? These are articles published after the article in question, often bringing new perspectives and connecting additional ideas.
You can perform forward searching in a few ways. Search the title of the article in either Google Scholar or Scopus to see the newer articles that have cited your article.
- Google Scholar (HPU-specific link) This link opens in a new windowSearch the title of an article and click "Cited by" to see the articles that have cited the one you searched.
- Scopus This link opens in a new windowA citation search tool that indexes over 75 million articles and records. Each citation contains a detailed abstract and links to its references, along with links to resources cited by. Scopus provides links to full-text articles HPU Libraries already subscribes to, as well as links to publisher pages.
Backward Searching
Backward searching refers to using the bibliography and references listed in an article to find earlier articles published on the topic. These resources can help you see the history of a topic and its foundational literature.
You can use backward searching by utilizing both Journal Finder and the library's catalog, detailed further below.
Journal Finder
Journal Finder
Journal Finder allows you to search for specific journals and periodicals. You can use it to see all of the articles published in that journal that we have access to. Search the name of a journal to find all the places we have access to it.
- Journal Finder This link opens in a new windowUse HPU Libraries' Journal Finder to find full-text coverage of academic journals, newspapers, and other periodicals.
Full-Text Searching and Interlibrary Loan
Full-Text Searching and Interlibrary Loan Using the Library Catalog
To check whether we have full-text access to a specific journal article, simply search the title of the article in the library's catalog. This will search all of our databases for full-text access.
If you can't find the article in the search results, change the "Held by Library" on the left sidebar to "Libraries Worldwide." This will show you other libraries that have full-text access to the article.
You can request the full-text of an article to be sent to you through Interlibrary Loan by clicking the button that says, "Interlibrary Loan / Campus Delivery" and filling out the form.
Once you submit the form, you should receive a PDF of the article via email in a few days.
- Online Catalog (WorldCat Discovery) This link opens in a new windowUse the catalog to search for books, ebooks, DVDs, articles, and more!
