Ferris State University Library for Information, Technology and Education (FLITE).
ENGL 250 - Nelson

Finding Materials for 2006 Congressional Races:

Databases

To find journal articles on a particular topic, it's necessary to use one or more of the databases available on the FLITE Web site. These databases cumulatively provide indexing to thousands of journal titles. A few of the databases provide full-text (content of the articles is found directly within the database), but most only provide citations (description of where the article originally appeared in print).

Search Suggestion: Search the last name of the candidates at the same time
Example: Talent and McCaskill

Access World News
Access World News contains the full-text of nearly 1700 news sources from around the world. Narrow to the state where the Senate race is taking place, or search United States for national coverage.

Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe
Updated daily, newspaper coverage in Lexis-Nexis includes the New York Times and the Washington Post. For the best results, click on "Guided News Search" after entering Lexis-Nexis. At the "Guided News Search" page, follow the first four steps (chose "General News" and "Major Papers" in steps 1 and 2 for the broadest results). Be sure to change the date limit in step 4.

InfoTrac Custom 150 Full-Text Newspapers
This database includes full text newspapers articles for 150 English-language newspapers from the U.S. and around the world. Coverage for each newspaper title is generally the last 1-7 years.

Ethnic NewsWatch
Ethnic NewsWatch provides full-text articles from over 240 ethnic press newspapers in the United States from 1990-present.

Internet Resources

Real Clear Politics and Real Clear Politics Senate Races
Newsweek Campaign 2006
New York Times 2006 Election Guide


From NPR: (Real Player Required)
Democrats Hope for 'Abramoff Effect' in Montana Race
Senate Elections: A National Survey

Candidate's Official Websites

Missouri: Jim Talent (R) v Claire McCaskill (D)

Montana: Conrad Burns (R) v Jon Tester (D)

New Jersey: Bob Menendez (D) v Thomas Kean (R)

Ohio: Mike DeWine (R) v Sherrod Brown (D)

Rhode Island: Lincoln Chafee (R) v Sheldon Whitehouse (D)

Tennessee: Bob Corker (R) v Harold Ford (D)

Materials for The Life of Pi

Articles have been placed on the Electronic Reserve System (E-Reserve) at FLITE. Login with the class's username and password to access the materials. The username and password was given out in the library instruction session on October 2, 2006.

Getting the Article

If HTML or PDF full text options are available, click the link to go directly to the full text.

If full text is not an option:

Once you've found citations relevant to the topic you're working with and you need to get a copy of the articles, you'll need to verify whether FLITE owns the particular journal in which each article was published. Many databases now have a link called "Find It", which, by clicking on it, will give you the range of options available for document retrieval (print, microform, online). If the full text of the article is available, you will be able to find the article by clicking on the link.

If the only message you see is "Request document via Interlibrary Loan";, you will need to order the article. By clicking on the link in the window provided, you will be directed to a blank Interlibrary Loan form to be filled out. Sometimes the Find It button will provide a link to the Online Catalog. This indicates that the journal is found in FLITE's print collection. If you are off-campus and can't come to FLITE, simply order the article through Interlibrary Loan.

To look up whether FLITE owns a particular journal, use the Find a Periodical database to search for the journal title. Remember to use the journal title not the article title for your search.

Off Campus Access

FLITE's subscription databases are available to all current Ferris students, faculty, and staff. When you access a database from off campus you will need to login using your Library barcode number (located on the back of your Ferris ID) and a PIN (last four digits of your social security number or your birth date in mmddyy format). If you experience problems logging on, please call (231) 591-2669 or (800) 4-FERRIS (ext. 2669), or stop by the Check Out Desk at the Library.

Requests can be made electronically through the InterLibrary Loan (ILL) Request form.

Additional information can be found at Off Campus Database Access.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of presenting another's work or ideas as your own. Plagiarism is often unintentional, but it occurs whenever you use someone else's ideas or words without giving them credit. It can be obvious - purchasing a term paper or turning in a project done by someone else. It can be putting other's ideas into your own words. A simple rule: do not copy text from Web pages or other sources without identifying the origional author. In this description, I am using ideas presented in the FLITE Online Tutorial called PILOT.
The tutorial provides these four tips to avoid Plagiarism:

  • Take clear, accurate notes about where you found specific ideas
  • Write down the complete citation information for each item you use
  • Use quotation marks when directly stating another person's words
  • Always credit original authors for their information and ideas
For more information about Plagiarism, please explore the Plagiarism webpage provided by the Ferris State University Writing Center.

Citation Style Guides

Whenever you are quoting or using information from a source, you must credit or cite that source. Failure to do so is plagiarism which can lead to expulsion from the University. The following links provide information on how to use MLA: Style Guides, which you can access from the library home page by choosing:

Reference > General Reference > Citation Style Guides > Citation Style Guide: MLA (PDF)...

MLA List of References
More examples of how cite different types of sources using the MLA format.

Copies of the full-length APA manual (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed.) and MLA Handbook (MLA handbook for writers of research papers) are found in the Ready Reference section on Floor 1 of the library near the South Service Reference Desk.


If you have any questions about what we went over during the library visit, Email Jodi Shepherd.

Don't forget, you are welcome to come to the South Service Desk and ask for help at any time. You can also call us 231-591-3602 or chat with us.

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Last Update: September 11, 2006

Rick Bearden
Library Web Coordinator
Email Rick Bearden
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