Databases
When you start a research project, you need to get a sense of what’s already been said (or written) about your topic. We call this kind of overview background information.
Examples of background information that can help kickstart your research include basic facts, key words, history, leading issues, descriptions, and concepts.
Think of background information as a research building block or foundation. Background information can help you locate suitable keywords for searching databases and identify more specific areas of your topic that you may want to research further.
- Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability This link opens in a new windowArticles on key concepts and core beliefs of sustainability, the practices and methods to achieve it - and the ways in which different areas of the world adopt them or not. After signing in, you must select a Berkshire volume to either browse or search.
- Credo Reference - All Subjects Search This link opens in a new windowCredo is a multidisciplinary database containing dictionaries, encyclopedias, and atlases, plus a wide range of subject-specific titles relevant to EAS 100.
- Science Online This link opens in a new windowPresents a broad range of scientific disciplines through extensive definitions, essays, diagrams, biographies, and experiments.
- Science Reference Source EBSCO This link opens in a new windowProvides full text for hundreds of science magazines, journals, reference books and high-quality videos. The database also contains science experiments, curriculum-aligned lesson plans, and a vast image collection. Includes access to the Science Reference eBook Collection.
- World Geography & Culture This link opens in a new window
Provides country geography and physical features, government, people, and society facts at a glance and in-depth coverage through country entries, maps, flags, images, statistics, news articles, a gazetteer, and more.
- GreenFILE This link opens in a new windowGreenFILE covers all aspects of human impact on the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. Includes peer-reviewed publications.
- Science Magazine This link opens in a new windowSearch for full-text journal articles online from January 1997 to the present. Science is a peer-reviewed general-science journal published by the American Association of Science (AAAS) that serves as a leading outlet for scientific news, commentary, and cutting-edge research.
- Scientific American This link opens in a new windowSearch for full-text journal articles online from January 1993 to the present. Scientific American is the world's premier magazine of scientific discovery and technological innovation for the general public.
- Academic Search Complete EBSCO This link opens in a new windowProvides a comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 8,500 full-text periodicals - of which more than 7,300 are peer-reviewed journals.
- USGS Publications WarehouseThe USGS Publications Warehouse provides access to more than 160,000 official, USGS-authored and/or funded publications of the U.S. Geological Survey. It includes USGS-authored journal articles, series reports, book chapters, other government publications, and conference proceedings. Full-text publications authored with USGS funding are free.
- Oakton Library Catalog This link opens in a new windowO.W.L. (Oakton's Whole Library) is Oakton's library catalog and discovery service. Use it to search for books, articles, journals, and multimedia.
- eRead Illinois This link opens in a new windowSearch the eRead Illinois collection of over 24,000 e-books. They can be accessed on your device or computer with the Boundless app.
- Libby by OverDrive - NILRC This link opens in a new windowBorrow e-books and audio-books through the NILRC Libby/OverDrive Consortium collection. To download and learn how to use the mobile app, see the Libby app site.
Please Note: Excerpts from the Fall 2024 EAS 100 Writing Intensive Project assignment are provided here for your convenience. The assignment provided by Professor Benson-Lira in class or on your course D2L site is the official & complete source for deadlines and requirements.
- Fast fashion and its disastrous impact on the environment.
- Discuss the effects of sea level rising, include the biosphere, geosphere and the atmosphere.
- The main causes of groundwater contamination and the risks connected with it.
- Environmental racism in Chicago metropolitan area (It could be other areas outside of the region but you must specify it).
- Exploring the opposing views on climate change across Americans
- What does it actually mean for a city to be green or sustainable?
- Disseminating wishcycling and its effects on the environment
- Discuss how the climate crisis is a reproductive justice issue.
- Lithium mines: the case of Serbia
- Understanding the decline of coffee and chocolate production in tropical areas.
- Impacts of the Israeli military activities on the environment
- The environmental effects of consumerism
- Is veganism the solution to stop climate change?
- Plastic in the ocean
Tips for distinguishing between different types of sources
In EAS 100, you are expected to know what kind of sources you are citing in your research paper. Here are three resources from other institutions designed to help with that task. Still confused? Contact the Ask a Librarian online reference service. We are all here to help!
- Examples - How to Read Citations - Library Guides at UC BerkeleyThis guide will help you identify elements to distinguish one kind of citation from another (a book from a journal article, for example).
- Types of Sources - Purdue OWL® - Purdue UniversityThis Purdue OWL resources lists the types of sources most frequently used in academic research and describes the sort of information that each commonly offers.
- Identifying Information Sources Online - LibGuides at California State University, East BayThis guide from Cal State, East Bay is designed to help users distinguish between different type of sources