Research - Getting Started - FHS Honors Academy 2021 - Research Help at Fitchburg State University

Stages of the Research Process (Interactive Infographic)

Woman asking "Research? Where do I start?"

If your browser doesn't automatically display the iframe content below, access the interactive infographic here: https://diylibrary.fitchburgstate.edu/diy_research_process_stages/story.html

Logging into Library Databases from Off Campus

As soon as you click on a database or subscription resource, if you are not on the Fitchburg State campus, you will see a page prompting you to Sign in:

Enter your full Fitchburg State email address into the top box.
Enter you Fitchburg State email password into the bottom box.
Click on the Sign In button.
You should then be connected to that database or subscription resource.

If you encounter any problems logging in, contact your librarians for help.

Databases to Get Started With

Need background Information? Topic ideas? Overviews and pro/con articles about current issues? Try these:

Opposing Viewpoints (Gale In Context) This link opens in a new window
Addressing current event topics, this database provides topic overviews, pro/con essays, primary source documents, overviews of court cases, statistics, access to newspaper and magazine articles, reference works, podcasts and multimedia tools to help you research social issues.
Issues And Controversies This link opens in a new window
Up-to-date, in-depth and objective information on the most prominent and hotly debated issues of the day.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
In-depth, unbiased coverage of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy.

Looking for more in depth information and research articles? Try these:

Sociology Source Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive sociology research database; contains full text for books and monographs, journals and conference papers.
Academic Search Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Developed to meet the increasing demands of scholarly research, Academic Search Ultimate offers students an unprecedented collection of peer-reviewed, full-text journals, including many journals indexed in leading citation indexes.

Check out our full A-Z List of databases below to find other databases you might want to use. Need help deciding what databases would be good for your topic? Ask your librarians!