Research Guides: COMM111 Williams: Get sources about colleges

Websites about choosing a college + education program

College Search: College Board
Find colleges using criteria like selectivity, location, majors & learning environment, diversity, and more.
America's Top Colleges - Forbes Magazine
Forbes' Magazine's version of a top college list. They say they rank according to "student satisfaction, graduation rates, student debt and career success." What's missing?
Best Colleges: US News & World Report
Popular website used to rank colleges. Look into how the rankings are determined by following the "Best Colleges methodology" link.
Occupational Outlook Handbook
The OOH can help you find career information on duties, education and training, pay, and outlook for hundreds of occupations. In other words, what education do you need to be able to do a certain job?

Library resources about choosing a college + education program

eBooks and Encyclopedias (Gale) This link opens in a new window
GVRL includes lots of expert subject encyclopedias for every discipline, including education.
How to search Gale Virtual Research Library
Use the following titles:
The College Blue Book (2013)
Career Information Center (2007)
Scholarships, Fellowships and Loans (2009)

Learn ABOUT the college!

After you choose a college and educational program, learn about it by visiting the college's official website.

Education magazine & journal article databases

ERIC (Education Resource Information Center) This link opens in a new window
EBSCO database. Provides access to citations, abstracts, and some full text of scholarly journal articles, magazines, trade publications, and other education-related materials like lesson plans and classroom guides. If available, links to full text are included. To get the full text of ERIC articles emailed to you, submit an interlibrary loan request to CCC Library.
Educator's Reference Complete This link opens in a new window
Gale database. Full-text access to academic journals, reports, and reference sources that focus on educational principles, child development and psychology, and best practices in education.
Professional Development Collection This link opens in a new window
EBSCO database. Full-text articles from over 500 journals, education reports, and citations/abstracts. Topics covered include education theory and practice, children’s health and development. It is specifically designed for educators and educational researchers. Coverage for this highly specialized collection ranges from 1965 to the present.

General magazine & journal article databases

Academic OneFile (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Offers full-text of newspaper, magazine, trade journal, and peer-reviewed journal articles, as well as eBooks, videos and podcasts. Subject coverage includes the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, and literature. It’s a great place to look for resources when you’re not sure where to start.
Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Provides magazine, trade journal, and peer-reviewed journal articles on a wide range of subjects and is good for research on almost every topic. Most articles are available in full-text. It’s a great place to look for scholarly resources when you’re not sure where to start.

Double check if the article is "expert"

When you restrict an EBSCO or Gale search to bring back only items published in peer-reviewed journals, those results will still contain editorial and opinion pieces, book reviews, news blurbs, and other types of short, non-scholarly articles. These types of articles appear in peer-reviewed publications but are not always acceptable for academic research. Yikes! Always evaluate your sources before including them in your research.

And remember - a 10-20 page article is normal, and ideal for this assignment. Because you are critically evaluating this professional article, you need something with length and substance!