This guide provides a starting point for work you'll be doing in the Freshman Writing sequence -- and throughout your academic career.
Please review this Library Research Skills prior to your section's scheduled Library class:
Here are four great electronic resources to help you get your research started:
Encyclopedia Britannica -- one of the world's best encylopedias provides you with in-deph information on a wide variety of topics.
Biography Resource Center -- reliable information about the lives of hundreds of thousands of people -- from Thomas Jefferson and Jane Austen to Madonna and Jay-Z.
Oxford Reference Online -- a great tool for looking up quick facts! If you need the date of the Battle of the Bulge, a quick definition of a quadratic equation, or a translation of foreign word or phrase, this is the place to go!
CREDO Reference -- over a hundred and fifty online reference books, covering everything from art and literature to science and technology.
TIP! Look for additional tools in E-reference!
Use the Library Catalog to find books on just about anything! Books can be great sources of in-depth, scholarly information. You can search the library catalog in several different ways --
Title This is the default search in the library catalog-- it lets you quickly see if the Libraries have a particular book you want.
Author Lets you find out what books the Libraries hold that are written by a particular person.
Keyword Lets you search on any topic you're interested in. Use "and" or "or" to refine your keyword search.
LC Subject These are the "official" subject headings from the Library of Congress. The catalog will suggest options if you don't have the wording exactly right -- or ask a librarian for help.
MeSH Subject These are special Medical subject headings. They are used for books held in Drexel's Health Science Libraries.
TIP! If you want a book about a particular person, search for them as a subject. If you want a book by a particular person, search for them as an author. In either case, put their last name first: Washington, George.
TIP! If you need a book that Drexel doesn't own, you can borrow it from another library through E-Z Borrow! It's fast, easy, and free!
These three databases are the largest multidisciplinary databases. They will lead you to citations and full text articles on a multitude of topics.
Expanded Academic
ProQuest Research Library
Wilson Omnifile Full Text, Mega Edition
More databases are available here!
Planning your Research worksheet (pdf)
TIP! Check the limit box on the database search screen that allows you to search specifically for scholarly, peer-reviewed articles. Not sure what a "scholarly" article is? Check out the tutorial "Is this a Scholarly Publication?"
TIP! If the full text of an article you find is not in the database you're searching, use the SFX button 
to find out if it's available in another database. You can also check the library catalog to see if we have the journal in print format. Use Interlibrary loan for articles not available either electronically or in print.
- Check out the New Students' Guide to the Libraries. It will answer many of the questions you have.
- Explore the Tutorials/Online Instruction page for additional useful information.
- Need help citing sources/creating a bibliography or reference list? Check out the Citation Style Resources page.
- Stop by the reference desk on the first floor of Hagerty Library and talk to a member of the library staff.
- Call the Hagerty Library reference desk at 215.895.2755, IM us or send us a question online.
