UWM Libraries Research and Course Guides: English 102: College Writing and Research: Explore Research Pathways

Websites/News to Browse for Ideas

It can be hard to figure out exactly what you want to research or how to find a more specific area of interest. This page has some suggestions to help you accomplish those tasks.

When you're brainstorming or search - think about - what snagged your attention? What made you go, "oh that's interesting, I want to know more" and ask yourself "what else do I want to know about?" and go from there.

Follow your curiosity.

Consider:

Browse wikipedia (yes!)
Skim news articles from NPR, The Atlantic, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, PBS, BBC, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Why use these sites?

Check out the hyperlinks or cited references
Look for keywords or search terms
Gain background information
Learn key components of topic

Databases to Browse for Ideas

CQ Researcher - in the top navigation bar are two drop down menus that will help you quickly explore research pathways

Browse Topics - general research areas and can narrow in further on subtopics within that area
Browse Reports --> Issue Tracker - provides list of various issues covered by database to review

Gale - Opposing Viewpoints - has one large list of topics to explore

"Browse Issues" with a lightbulb icon on the right side underneath the picture banner

CQ Researcher Online
CQ Researcher gives reports providing analysis and commentary on current and controversial issues in the news. Topics covered include health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy.
Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints
Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints provides contextual information and opinions on hundreds of today's most debated social issues. It includes continuously updated viewpoints, topic overviews, full-text magazines, academic journals, news articles, primary source documents, statistics, images, videos, audio files and links to vetted websites.
Encyclopedia of Milwaukee
The Encyclopedia of Milwaukee project aims to provide comprehensive coverage of the history of Milwaukee. With a projected 740 entries, hundreds of illustrations, historical and contemporary maps, bibliographic materials, and the opportunity to interact with readers, the EMKE will be a first stop for researchers ranging from students to journalists to scholars and the general public.

Search Tips

Once you decide on a general research path and you start searching - are you finding too many results? There are several ways to focus in.

Narrower Focus
Filters
Subject-Specific Databases

Narrower Focus

Do a broad search and skim the first two pages - is there something more focused that interests you? Try adding it to your search

In Search@UW -

If I searched (zoos) - I get over 150,000 results!

If I searched (zoos AND animal welfare) -- now there are over 3000 results

If I searched (zoos AND animal welfare AND tourism) - there are less than a 100 results now!

Filters

Typically databases will have a filters like

specific source type (new articles, videos, scholarly articles, books)
date range
topic (this is really great in Search@UW!)

Subject-Specific Databases

Search@UW is great for a broad search to find a lot of resources in one place but can be overwhelming. Instead, try searching in a subject specific database which will contain fewer materials but are directly related to a specific subject

For example, if I searched Environment Complete with my zoo and animal welfare topic

If I searched (zoos) - I got over 8,000 results -- that's much smaller than the 150,000 from Search@UW!

If I searched (zoos AND animal welfare) -- 300+ results

If I searched (zoos AND animal welfare AND tourism) - less than 10 results (this might be too small now!)