Subject databases cover a specific discipline and provide the widest range of access to scholarly sources. They are used for in-depth research. These subject databases may be especially useful for your research project for this class. Depending on your topic and your angle, you may wish to search additional subject databases.

During the preview phase, you'll want to concentrate on these key elements:

• Abstract (if available)
• First paragraph (sometimes the second paragraph, too):  What does the author want to find out?  What is the research question the author is asking?
• Evidence:  What are the primary sources the author uses?
• Scholarly conversation:  What are the other scholarly works (secondary sources) the author uses?
• Conclusion (typically the last paragraph):  How does the author tie the evidence together to answer the research question? What is the significance of this research?

Once you've selected the article, you can actively read for content, argument, analysis and evaluation. 

Tip: Read the article more than once!  It may help to print out a copy so that you can make notes.