Welcome! This guide should help you navigate library services and resources that you can use for your research for English 494. Specifically, you will find information here that will help you...

• Tell the difference between academic sources and popular sources
• Find credible and scholarly articles and books that will provide context for your topic

Because we are all living through unusual times, this guide will also link you to information on currently available library services. You can find updates at our WSU Libraries Coronavirus COVID-19 Updates and Resources Page.  And information about special services is available at Special Circumstances: Remote Resources And Guidance.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch with me if you need help locating or accessing resources. 

Brief notes on how database access works

The WSU Libraries pay subscriptions to various databases and online publications so that WSU researchers can access them. For the most part, the people selling this access don't want anyone to have it for free, so they want to make sure you are a WSU student before they let you see the full text. 

What this means for you is that searching Google or Google Scholar may pull up some interesting sources, but you may be asked to pay to read them. We don't want you to have to do this. It can help to start your search from the library home page or the libraries' Databases A-Z list. This way, you'll be asked to log in with your network ID and password in a way that content providers understand and accept. 

Tips for Finding Full-Text Online Sources in Search It

You can still request articles from other libraries and we should be able to get them to you. However, it is good to know how to limit your search to items that are available online through WSU. To do that in Search It, follow these steps:

1. In Search It, type in your search terms and run your search.
2. In the left side of the screen, under Availability, select "WSU Online Resources" and "Open Access"

This should limit your search to items that are already available in full text from journals and databases the WSU Libraries subscribe to, as well as to open access publications..

Tools to help with Online Access

LibKey Nomad and the Libraries’ Proxy Bookmarklet are both tools that can help make accessing online articles quicker and easier. If you use them, you won't have to log in as often when you are accessing articles. More information on these tools, including instructions for how to set them up, is  available at https://libraries.wsu.edu/help/proxy-bookmarklet.