Research Guides: English as a Second Language Research Guide: Finding Articles

Finding Articles

Evidence found in newspaper, magazine and journal articles is more specific than background information and support your arguments. Scholarly (peer-reviewed) articles are often required for academic papers. These articles are found using subscription library databases.

The short list of databases on this page may be particularly useful for your assignment. A full list of our databases can be found here:

Database List (all databases)
A list of all databases available through the PCC Library. Can be viewed as an alphabetical list or sorted by subject and type of content.

Exploring a Topic

These resources can help you to refine your topic or familiarize yourself with an issue. They make a great starting point when you have a general idea of a research topic, but you still need to narrow it down.

Biography (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new window
Search for biographies based on name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates and places, gender, or other keywords.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Articles covering controversial issues with summaries, insight into all sides of the issues, bibliographies and more. (coverage since 1991)
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Large collection of reference books providing background information on a variety of subjects. PCC offers a brief video with instructions for using this database.
Health and Wellness (Gale) This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive consumer health resource providing accurate, authoritative information on a full range of health-related issues, from current disease and disorder information to in-depth coverage of alternative and complementary medical practices. Includes academic journals, magazines, news, and background information from reference sources.
Opposing Viewpoints (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new window
Articles about social issues. Includes opinion articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, and full-text periodical articles from magazines and newspapers. PCC offers a brief video with instructions for using this database.
U.S. History (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new window
Covers themes, events, individuals and periods in U.S. history from pre-Colonial times to the present. Includes historical (primary) documents, reference articles, journal citations and full-text journal articles.

Recommended Databases

Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
Full text access to articles from academic journals, newspapers, magazines and other periodicals covering a variety of subject areas. Search results also include video news footage from the Associated Press, dating back to 1930.
SIRS Issues Researcher (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
SIRS Issues Researcher provides insight into the most-studied social issues by delivering the pros and cons from relevant, credible documents and graphics selected from over 2,000 global sources. Leading Issues pages provide a framework for understanding and analyzing over 360 complex social issues with overviews, essential questions, viewpoints, and editorially selected primary and secondary sources.
ProQuest (combined) This link opens in a new window
A combined search of a wide variety of ProQuest databases offering full text access to articles from academic journals, newspapers, magazines and other periodicals covering a variety of subject areas. Includes ProQuest Research Library, GenderWatch, Ethnic NewsWatch, and many more databases.
EBSCOhost (Combined) This link opens in a new window
A combined search of a wide variety of EBSCOhost databases containing thousands of journal, magazine, and newspaper articles covering all disciplines. Includes scholarly journal articles. Includes Academic Search Premier, America: History and Life, science and medicine/health databases, psychology databases, and many more. PCC offers a brief video with instructions for using this database, and more advanced ways to improve your search,

English as a Second Language Research Guide

Off Campus Log In (Database Access)

What is a Database?

Popular vs. Scholarly Sources

Finding Articles

Exploring a Topic

Recommended Databases