How Do You Find Sources?
Library resources are an ideal place to start for research: librarians have cultivated all kinds of high quality, college-worthy resources available to you for free -- no paywalls! Plus, library sources have already been vetted and approved, so you don't have to wonder if they're okay to use for your research. In fact, they've been selected based on the classes you can take and the assignments your instructors develop here at Jefferson College.
This page will introduce you to some of the places you can access library resources for research, and some tips & tricks for using them to find the information you need.
Online Databases
Need to find some high-quality, college-level sources but you don't know where to start? Check out the library databases! There are over 80 different databases available to you as a student at Jefferson College. Find scholarly journal articles, magazines, newspapers, eBooks, and more.
- Discovery @ Jefferson College LibraryWith Discovery, the library's new search tool, you can look for information on your topic from multiple databases all at once! Get instant access to millions of resources of all kinds, plus the library's book catalog. Just use the search box on the library's homepage.
- Databases by SubjectSome databases are full of journal articles, books, and media geared toward specific subjects. Want to figure out which ones align best with your class or topic? Check out this list of our databases organized by their subject focus.
- A-Z DatabasesIt's difficult to know where to start your research if you don't actually know what you have available to you! Browse this alphabetical list of all the library databases to see if anything catches your eye.
Reference Sources
Reference sources are sources that provide factual information about a topic, like encyclopedias, dictionaries, manuals, guidebooks, and more. These sources are ideal for getting more familiar with a subject, gathering background information, or starting research. NOTE: These are not scholarly/academic/peer-reviewed research sources.
- Britannica Online This link opens in a new windowCombines Encyclopædia Britannica and Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, periodicals, atlas, world data, the Classics, biographies, news, and multimedia.
- CredoWith regular updates, this Collection includes 3 million entries from notable subject encyclopedias, handbooks, guides, companions and readers covering over 80 major subject disciplines and more than 6 million research concepts. In addition to full-text content, the Academic Core Collection provides access to more than 1,000 videos and animations, as well as 500,000 contextual visual aids, images, photographs and maps.
Books & eBooks
- Jefferson College Library CatalogLooking for what's readily available on the library shelves? Use Locate, the Jefferson College Library catalog, to find resources like books or DVDs that you can come right in and check out.
- MOBIUS OpenRSThis catalog provides you with access to millions of materials from libraries all across the region, thanks to our membership in the Mobius Consortium. If you can't find it on the shelves here, look for it in Mobius. NOTE: Mobius items may take up to one week to arrive after requesting, as they must be sent via courier.
- eBooks on EBSCOA collection of eBooks provided by EBSCO publisher.
- Overdrive This link opens in a new windowOverdrive is a distribution platform for eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video titles. OverDrive's catalog includes more than 2 million digital titles from more than 5,000 publishers. Use Overdrive to access eBooks and download them to your device.
EBSCO's Top 5 Search Strategies
- Top 5 Search StrategiesWant to optimize your searching? Use this tip sheet to learn about five ways to make your search more effective, including truncation & Boolean operators.
Using Filters in the Discovery Layer
Discovery brings together multiple databases for you to search through all at once, so knowing how to use filters to help you narrow down your results is important. Review the information below to remind yourself of what filters are available and which might be the best to use to help you find the information you need.
