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English Language for Academic Purposes (ELAP): Find Sources

Use this guide to find information about English language resources in the Montgomery College Library and online.

Search Tools for ELAP

Academic articles, sometimes also called journal articles or scholarly articles, are relatively short publications that academic researchers use to communicate new findings and ideas to other scholars. Articles are compiled in scholarly journals, which are essentially academic magazines that come out on a schedule. Many journal articles are peer-reviewed, which means they've gone through a formal review process before being published. 

When & Why to Use Articles:

  • You need information based on research and expertise.
  • You need detailed information that focuses on a narrow topic.
  • You need to find peer-reviewed material or ensure that the information you find is accurate.

Search for Articles on ELAP:

  • National Geographic Virtual Library
    • Login Required
    Best Bet
    This collection brings together a complete archive of National Geographic magazines along with a cross-searchable collection of National Geographic books, maps, images and videos. This Virtual Library includes: National Geographic Magazine Archive, 1888-1994; National Geographic Magazine Archive, 1995-Current; National Geographic: People, Animals, and the World; and National Geographic Kids.
  • Writer's Reference Center
    • Login Required
    Best Bet
    Writer’s Reference Center provides tools necessary to write and research effectively, including grammar, style, fundamentals of writing, dictionaries, and a step by step guide to writing a good essay.
  • Flipster
    • Login Required
    Online access to popular magazines via the web or your mobile device. To download issues to your iOS or Android device, access Flipster via your mobile browser and then choose "Open in App" from the Options menu. Issues can be downloaded directly from the app by choosing "MONTGOMERY COLLEGE ROCKVILLE LIBRARY" through the "Find My Library" search tool.
  • Gale In Context: College
    • Login Required
    • Video
    Interdisciplinary content, chosen for college students, that reinforces the development of skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation.
  • SIRS Issues Researcher
    • Login Required
    General reference database containing thousands of full-text articles exploring social, scientific, health, historic, business, economic, political and global issues. Articles and graphics are selected from 2,000 domestic and international publications according to strict criteria with regard to content and age appropriateness.

Scholarly books are nonfiction books usually based on academic research done by the author or authors. They can contain multiple chapters on different aspects of a particular topic, or they can focus entirely on one concept or idea.

When & Why to Use Scholarly Books:

  • You need to understand a complex topic. Books are generally easier to read than journal articles.
  • You need very in-depth analysis of a topic.
  • You need a broad understanding of one or more topics.
  • You need a summary of existing research on a topic.

Search for Books and E-Books on ELAP:

  • Oxford Dictionaries Online
    • Login Required
    Best Bet
    Offers searchable, comprehensive bilingual dictionaries and unique study materials that provide extra help with learning and using an expanding range of languages. Languages covered include: Arabic, English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
  • Writer's Reference Center
    • Login Required
    Best Bet
    Writer’s Reference Center provides tools necessary to write and research effectively, including grammar, style, fundamentals of writing, dictionaries, and a step by step guide to writing a good essay.
  • Boundless (e-books and audiobooks)
    • E-Book
    • Audio
    • Login Required
    E-book and audiobook platform, including both fiction and non-fiction offerings. Sign in using your M# to access functionality such as placing holds, renewing titles, and adding titles to a wish list. Titles may also be accessed on mobile devices by downloading the free Boundless mobile app.
  • Oxford English Dictionary
    • Login Required
    Accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books.
  • Oxford Reference Online Premium
    • Login Required
    Brings together language and subject reference works into a single cross-searchable resource. Offers over 300 fully-indexed, cross-searchable dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press and a selection of partner publishers' scholarly works. Includes detailed information across a broad subject range from titles in the Oxford Companions Series.
  • Peterson's Test Prep
    • Login Required
    Provides over 100 practice tests ranging from ASVAB to CLEP to SAT to NCLEX to PRAXIS and includes tests for graduate school, TOEFL, and US citizenship. It also includes information on over 4,000 accredited schools. Users will need to create a free account to access test prep materials.
  • PrepSTEP
    • Login Required
    PrepSTEP is an online learning platform that provides a selection of academic and career-related resources, including core math and English skills, placement test preparation, career and workplace preparation, college success skills. Users will need to create a free account to access content.

Research Skills & Tips:

MC Library has access to streaming videos and audio, as well as DVDs and CDs. Different types of video and audio include documentaries, educational videos, mainstream movies, radio interviews, and podcasts. Additionally, users have access to a variety of images that can be used in their research.

When & Why to Use Videos or Media:

  • You need to include an expert's point of view, and a documentary or podcast on your topic includes an interview.
  • You're doing a presentation and need to include a visual or audio element.
  • You need to learn a concept that is best understood visually.

Search for Videos and Media on ELAP:

  • Gale In Context: College
    • Login Required
    • Video
    Interdisciplinary content, chosen for college students, that reinforces the development of skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation.

Search for information about the lives of notable people, both in the US and in other countries, in these resources:

A database is essentially a compilation of resources on a particular topic or field of study. Some databases cover multiple topics, and these are called multidisciplinary databases.

When & Why to Use Multidisciplinary Databases:

  • You're unsure of which database to choose for your research.
  • Your research encompasses several different topics.
  • You're just getting started with learning how to use databases for research -- multidisciplinary databases are often easier for beginners to navigate.

Search Multidisciplinary Databases:

  • Academic Search Complete
    • Login Required
    Best Bet Featured

    Academic Search Complete is a scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 8,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 journals and a total of more than 13,200 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc..

  • ABC-CLIO EBook Collection
    • E-Book
    • Login Required
    You can search through hundreds of e-books through their main interface. These titles are also available through RaptorSearch.
  • Academic Video Online Premium
    • Login Required
    • Video
    This resource has over 65,000 video titles in subject areas including anthropology, business, counseling, history, music, film, and more. Video types include documentaries, feature films, interviews, performances, and news programs among others.
  • Credo Reference
    • E-Book
    • Login Required
    Online reference library with a wide selection of reference books. Search or browse by subject. These titles are also accessible through RaptorSearch.
  • Docuseek2 Collection
    • Login Required
    • Video
    Docuseek2 provides educational streaming access to documentary and social issues films and videos.
  • eBooks on EBSCOhost
    • E-Book
    • Login Required
    Includes reference works, scholarly monographs, literature, and other fiction. You can search for ebooks by title, keyword, author, or full text and can browse the book online or "check it out" after creating a free online account. Checking out a book allows you to view the book anywhere, anytime for the specified check out period. These titles are also accessible through RaptorSearch. For information on how to use e-books on EBSCOhost, please see this helpful guide.
  • Encyclopaedia Britannica
    • E-Book
    • Login Required
    Encyclopaedia Britannica Online includes the complete encyclopedia, as well as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, Britannica Student Encyclopedia and the Britannica Book of the Year.
  • Films on Demand
    • Login Required
    • Video
    Includes thousands of streaming video titles in the Academic Master collection from a variety of publishers including Films for the Humanities & Sciences, PBS, Film Board of Canada, and many more. New titles added monthly. These titles are also accessible through RaptorSearch.
  • Flipster
    • Login Required
    Online access to popular magazines via the web or your mobile device. To download issues to your iOS or Android device, access Flipster via your mobile browser and then choose "Open in App" from the Options menu. Issues can be downloaded directly from the app by choosing "MONTGOMERY COLLEGE ROCKVILLE LIBRARY" through the "Find My Library" search tool.
  • Gale Academic OneFile
    • Login Required
    Academic OneFile is a source for peer-reviewed, full-text articles from leading journals and reference sources. Includes extensive coverage of the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects. Academic OneFile includes Expanded Academic ASAP.
  • Gale eBooks
    • E-Book
    • Login Required
    A selected collection of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. For a current title list of our offerings, see the List of Sources once you are in the collection. These titles are also accessible through RaptorSearch. For information on how to use e-books on Gale, please see this helpful video.
  • Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints
    • Login Required
    Featured

    A complete one-stop source for information on social issues. Access viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

  • JSTOR
    • E-Book
    • Login Required
    JSTOR includes archives of nearly three thousand academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as select monographs and other materials valuable for academic work. Journals are included from volume 1, issue 1 and include previous and related titles; the most recently published issues (past 3-5 years) are not available.
  • Kanopy
    • Login Required
    • Video
    TIP: Use Chrome or Firefox when accessing videos for best viewing experience. Collection of streaming videos in all genres - from documentaries to movies to training videos.
  • MasterFILE Premier
    • Login Required
    Full text for nearly 1,700 periodicals with full-text information dating as far back as 1975. Covering virtually every subject area of general interest, MasterFILE Premier also contains full text for nearly 500 reference books and over 164,400 primary source documents, as well as an Image Collection of over 592,000 photos, maps & flags.
  • Oxford Reference Online Premium
    • Login Required
    Brings together language and subject reference works into a single cross-searchable resource. Offers over 300 fully-indexed, cross-searchable dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press and a selection of partner publishers' scholarly works. Includes detailed information across a broad subject range from titles in the Oxford Companions Series.
  • Oxford Scholarship Online
    • E-Book
    • Login Required
    Thousands of ebooks in all subject areas, with new titles added on a monthly basis.
  • Project Muse
    • Login Required
    Full-text access to over 30,000 eBooks and 600 journals in the humanities, arts, and social sciences from 100 scholarly publishers.
  • ProQuest Ebook Central
    • E-Book
    • Login Required
    Online collection of academic ebooks that can be read on- or offline. These titles are also accessible through RaptorSearch. For information on how to use e-books on ProQuest, please see this helpful guide.
  • ProQuest Primary Sources Collection
    • E-Book
    • Login Required
    • Video
    Collection of over 160 multidisciplinary primary resources, including books, journals, dissertations, primary-source documents, and videos.
  • RaptorSearch
    RaptorSearch allows you to find items located physically at the library along with most content that MC Library subscribes to online. Results may include articles from scholarly journals, books, e-books; videos and other media, newspaper articles, and more.
  • SAGE Journals Online
    • Login Required
    Full text journals in the areas of Business, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Science, Technology and Medicine, often from volume 1, issue 1 to the present.
  • SIRS Issues Researcher
    • Login Required
    General reference database containing thousands of full-text articles exploring social, scientific, health, historic, business, economic, political and global issues. Articles and graphics are selected from 2,000 domestic and international publications according to strict criteria with regard to content and age appropriateness.

Search for Sources

The MC Library has access to different kinds of search tools: 

  • RaptorSearch searches across most of the information that you can access through the MC Library. Find books, e-books, streaming audio and video, and DVDs and CDs, as well as articles and other electronic resources from databases available through the library.
  • Databases are collections of articles, videos, images, or other types of sources. Some databases cover only one research area, like psychology or English. Other databases cover multiple research areas and are called multidisciplinary databases. Some databases are based on source type, like photographs or videos, instead of research area.

Use the tabs in the Search Tools box on this page to find suggested search tools to use for a variety of types of sources. 

MC students, faculty, and staff can access all of our search tools and online resources from on- or off-campus.

Research Skills & Tips:

Unlike Google, library databases can't understand an entire sentence. You'll need to break your topic down into the most important ideas: the keywords. Keywords are individual words or short phrases that represent the main ideas in your topic, thesis, or research question. 

Example Question: Should the federal government be able to regulate content on the internet? 

Keywords: federal government, regulate, content, Internet 

After you've identified your main ideas and some keywords to start with, think of additional search terms for each concept. These can be synonyms, related ideas, broader terms, or narrower terms. Since a database will match only what you type, using different terms for similar ideas can help you find more articles. 

Example Search Terms: 

  • federal government: Congress, legislative branch, laws
  • regulate: oversee, allow, freedom of speech, censorship
  • content: information, misinformation, language
  • internet: websites, social media, memes, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok

Click on the research issue you're having below to see tips for addressing it:

I'm Not Finding Enough Sources

I'm Finding Too Many Sources

I'm Finding Irrelevant Sources

None of These Tips Solved My Research Issue


Not Finding Enough Sources

  • Type the word OR between related search terms to get results containing either term. Put the related search terms in parentheses.
    • Example: government and regulate and (internet or "social media")
    Diagram shows social media & internet highlighted
  • Use a truncation character (often the asterisk, *, but it can vary by search tool), which is a symbol added to the root of a word to tell the search tool that you want all forms of that word. 
    • Example: elect* will search for elect, election, elector, electoral, electorate, electing, etc.
  • Use a wildcard character (often the hash sign, #, but it can vary by search tool), which is a symbol that replaces any character in a word.
    • Example: wom#n will search for woman or women.

Finding Too Many Sources

  • Type the word AND between the main ideas in your search to get results containing all ideas.
    • Example: government and regulate and internet and "free speech"
    Diagram shows overlap between gov't & free speech

Finding Irrelevant Sources

  • Type the word NOT before a search term that you do not want your search results to contain.
    • Example: election not "united states"
    Diagram shows social media & internet highlighted
  • Type quotation marks around a specific phrase to get search results that contain only that exact phrase.
    • Example: "social media"
  • Use the search tool's filters to target search results that will meet your needs. You'll find filters on the search results screen. The exact location and filtering options varies by search tool.
    • Example: use a publication date filter to find sources published in the last five years.
    • Example: use a source type filter to find only articles or only videos.

If the options above did not help you find useful results, you may want to:

  • change your search terms,
  • select a different search tool,
  • make your topic broader or narrower, or
  • get research help from a librarian.

Research Skills & Tips:

After you've selected your search tool, identified keywords, and fixed research issues, it's time to choose your sources. It is common to get more search results than you will use, so you must evaluate the sources you find to choose the best ones for your research.

Start by scanning the search results to locate sources that fit your research question or need. The search results page will include information about each source, such as the title, year, and abstract, to help you determine its relevance.

Once you've found a source you'd like to use, evaluate its credibility by considering the evidence, source, context, audience, purpose, and execution of the source. Learn more on the Evaluate Information and Fake News guide linked below.


Research Skills & Tips:

Suggested Websites for American English Language

Find Sources

"Find Sources." Magnifying Glass.

This page will help you choose where and how to search for your sources. As you search, use the tips on this page to help you evaluate each source you find.

Where Do I Go in the Library?

Browse the library shelves in these call number areas to find materials relating to the English language.

Look for dictionaries in the Circulating Collection and the Reference Collection in each library, at the call numbers listed here:

  • English-only: PE1625, PE1628
  • English-Amharic: PJ9237 (Germantown & Takoma Park only)
  • English-French: PC2640
  • English-Chinese: PL1455
  • English-Spanish: PC4640
  • English-German: PF3640
  • English-Vietnamese: PL4376
  • Grammar books will be located in the PE1128 call number area.

Journals by Title

If you want to locate a particular journal, magazine, or newspaper, instead of an individual article, use the Journals by Title feature in RaptorSearch. Search by publication title, such as Newsweek or Psychological Bulletin, or get a list of all journals on your topic by browsing through the journal categories.