Suggested Databases & Resources - ENGL 1711 - Composition: Food & Thought - Taylor

Searching Databases

The amount of information returned from a search on your subject or topic can be overwhelming. There are a number of skills and techniques that can be used that will help you find quality academic information. Use the links above to learn more about each step in the search process.

First Steps:

1.   Define your topic. What question are you trying to answer?
2.   Choose keywords for your topic. Think of synonyms, abbreviations, and alternative spellings.
3.   Choose a database you think will be helpful--the suggestions in this research guide or the A-Z Database list.
4.   Combine your keywords using Boolean operators - this gives your search some structure.
5.   Refine your search results using publication date, availability, or subject options.
6.   Reflect on the results you find, make changes based on those results, and try again.

Choosing Keywords

Begin with only 2-3 essential terms and avoid long phrases.
If your first term doesn’t work, try a synonym.
You may have to try several related search terms to find the types of resources you're looking for.

Choosing Databases
Look for a research guide for your class--it may have helpful starting suggestions.
If not, use the Library Databases A-Z page to locate a database--use the dropdown to narrow by subject.

Want more results? Use the search bar on the library homepage and click “Articles” to get results from every database at once.

Boolean Operators

Boolean Operators are terms you can use to narrow or broaden your search in a database or a library catalog.
The three basic operators are: AND, OR, and NOT.

Use AND in a search to:

narrow your results
tell the database that ALL search terms must be present in the resulting records

For example: racism AND elections AND United States

The orange triangle in the middle of the Venn diagram represents the results set for this search.

Use OR in a search to:

connect two or more similar concepts (synonyms)
broaden your results, telling the database that ANY of your search terms can be present in the resulting records.

Example: feminism OR gender inequality OR women's rights

All three circles represent the result set for this search. It is a big set because any of those words are valid using the OR operator.

Use NOT in a search to:

Narrow your results
Exclude specific words or concepts from your search results

Example: participation AND democracy NOT United States

This tells the database to pull up results about participation and democracy but to exclide any articles that are about participation and democracy specifically in the United States.

Refine Your Results

Add a date range: refine your results to items published within that timeframe.
Limit to “peer-reviewed journals”: you will only see items that have been through a peer review or editorial review process.
Limit to “full text”: you will only see results if you can read the entire text right away (no interlibrary loan or citation-only results will appear).

Library Databases

Agriculture Collection This link opens in a new window
This collection provides broad coverage of agriculture and its related fields. This database provides access to authoritative journals that span the industry—from practical aspects of farming to cutting-edge scientific research in horticulture. The search tips at the top of this page will help you find what you need in this database.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Excellent source for topic overviews of social issues, technology, and education.
Culinary Arts Collection This link opens in a new window
The Gale Culinary Arts Colletion is a collection of more than five million articles from more than 250 major cooking and nutrition magazines. The search tips at the top of this page will help you find what you need in this database.
Eat Your Books This link opens in a new window
Username: spclibrary
Password: SPClibrarybooks7000

Eat Your Books take any cookbooks on your "shelf" (in this case the 6,000+ books we have in the Saint Paul College Library) and indexes them and their recipes to be searchable by ingredient and/or recipe name, not just by title/author/ISBN/main subject like in the library catalog. Start on "My Bookshelf" and "Books" or "Recipes" to start your search! You can also filter your search by course, recipe types, ingredients, ethnicity, occasion, and nutrition.
Global Issues in Context This link opens in a new window
Vetted content is provided from over 366 geographically diverse newspapers, magazines, and journals, including 171 newspapers that are published in countries other than the United States. With a truly global view, users can find information on business and economics, conflict and diplomacy, society and culture, environment and climate change, and more. The search tips at the top of this page will help you find what you need in this database.
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Opposing Viewpoints has reference, news, and peer-reviewed articles on a wide range of current events and social issues. The browsing feature makes this an excellent source to find a topic.

Related Websites

U.S. Department of Agriculture State of Origin Reports
Do you know where your food comes from? If you can pinpoint where your food was grown and produced, you can make more informed decisions to maximize quality, freshness, and nutritional value. You can also help support local economies through your purchases. The USDA Foods program takes this mantra to heart and publishes state of origin reports with procurement information on all USDA Foods every year.
Saint Paul Regional Water Services
Saint Paul Regional Water Services (SPRWS) is the public drinking water utility for the city of Saint Paul and surrounding suburbs. In order to meet this demand for reliable, high-quality drinking water, we treat and pump an average of 40 million gallons of water per day - enough to cover an entire football field in 93 feet of water.
U.S. Water Partnership
U.S. Water Partnership unites, mobilizes, and shares the best of U.S. expertise, resources, and ingenuity to address global water challenges, building resilience where needs are greatest. We share and support best practices, business models and technologies that ensure sustainable water management for people and the environment.
The National Assiciation of Wheat Growers
NAWG is the primary representative in Washington D.C. for wheat growers, working to ensure a better future for America’s growers, the industry and the general public.
The Food Empowerment Project - Food Deserts
Food deserts can be described as geographic areas where residents’ access to affordable, healthy food options (especially fresh fruits and vegetables) is restricted or nonexistent due to the absence of grocery stores within convenient traveling distance.
The Food Empowerment Project - Water Usage and Privitization
Today, at least 1.1 billion people (about one-sixth of the entire human population) do not have adequate access to clean drinking water, and 2.6 billion people lack proper sanitation—causing nearly 250 million cases of disease and 10 to 20 million deaths worldwide every year.
United Nations Global Issues - Water
Water is at the core of sustainable development and is critical for socio-economic development, energy and food production, healthy ecosystems and for human survival itself. Water is also a rights issue. As the global population grows, there is an increasing need to balance all of the competing commercial demands on water resources, so that communities have enough for their needs.
USDA Food Distribution & Emergency Assistance
FNS' food distribution programs have a dual mission — to nourish people in need and support American agriculture.

ENGL 1711 - Composition: Food & Thought - Taylor: Suggested Databases & Resources

Searching Databases

Searching Databases

Boolean Operators

Refine Your Results

Library Databases

Related Websites