Research Help for Online Students

Library databases include journals, magazines and newspapers, as well as streaming videos and more. 

1. Begin at the Kent Library Homepage and click on Articles & Databases.
2. At this point you will need to select a database. Some databases search materials in a specific subject (ex. education, business), while search specific formats of information (ex. news, ebooks).
   • The default tab has three databases that search many formats of information in many subjects. These are sufficient for research in many 100 and 200-level courses. 
   • The Databases A-Z tab lets you browse or search for a database you know of already.
   • Databases by Subject organizes databases useful for particular subject areas based on academic programs at Southeast.
   • Databases by Type organizes databases by special formats, such as streaming audio, eBooks, statistics, and streaming video.
3. When you click on the name of the database, you may be prompted to enter your SE Key and password (the same you would use to log in to Portal or Canvas).

Still not sure what database to pick?  Try one suggested in a Research Guide for your subject or class or contact the reference desk.

Once you have found the description for a useful article in a database, you will need to get the article itself. The full article is called the "full text" in a library database.

1. Next to some articles you will see words like Full Text, PDF Full Text, or HTML Full Text. You can click on any of these to see the entire article on your screen. Most databases will allow you to download a copy of the article.

3. If there is not a full text article, you will instead see a link that says "Check full text finder for for full text."  This link will search the entire library collection for the full-text of your article.
   • The link will open a new page and the article linker service.
   • If the article is available in another database, those databases will be listed as links in the article linker.
   • Clicking the link will redirect you to the full-text article.
4. If we do not have the article in our collection, "Request document via ArticleReach and "Request through Interlibrary Loan" links will be displayed in the article linker. ArticleReach and Interlibrary Loan are services that allow us to try to find copies of articles from other libraries. For ArticleReach input your first and last name as well as your S0 number from your Southeast identification card followed by lowercase "semo." A PDF copy of the article will arrive in your Southeast email within one to three days.
5. For Interlibrary Loan:
   • You automatically have an interlibrary loan account that you can access with your SE Key and password. First-time users will need to fill out some contact information. 
   • After logging in, you should be sent to a form with the citation information for the article you want to request. Hit "Submit" if all of the citation information is correct.
   • An email will be sent when the article is available.
   • It can take approximately a week for us to obtain access to the article.

Citing sources is important because it gives credit to the person who published the idea originally and allows readers to check your evidence.  Your instructor should tell you which style of citation to use (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

Resources:

Citation Styles Research Guide

Resources on how to cite print and electronic resources for in MLA, APA, Chicago, and other styles. 

Center for Writing Excellence

The Center for Writing Excellence has online reference guides for MLA, APA, and Chicago Styles. You can submit a draft of your paper to the Writing Lab online to receive feedback.