For your assignments, you will need scholarly resources to draw upon the theory and critical concepts that you 

• Academic Article - Are there in-text citations and references listed in bibliography? 
• Newspaper Article or Website Article - Does the article include interviews with experts and clearly identify facts, but not citations? Use that information to search for scholarly resources. 
• Do the authors have expertise?  (e.g., affiliation to an academic institution or recognized organization, academic credentials, extensive professional experience)
• Do the authors examine the issue objectively?  Is a particular bias voiced by this author? Does the author discuss different perspectives on the topic? 
• Use RADAR criteria (Rationale, Authority, Date, Accuracy, Relevance) to assess if the research is reliable and scholarly. 

Choosing your Search Terms

Think of the language that will be the most effective for your search and keep track of search terms that produce the best results. Ask yourself: 

• Will your topic be discussed in the news using scholarly terms or would other terminology be more effective?
• Has the terminology changed over time or based on location? 

Designing your Search Strategies

Some databases allow you to enter search terms on separate lines (e.g., enter a keyword the top line and researcher or activist's last name below, so as to articulate your search request)

Use Boolean Operators allow you to widen or narrow the search for your keywords and target your research topic:

Quotations marks (search for specific phrases or names)

• "Disability Studies", "Crip Theory", "Feminist Disability Studies", "Disability Activism", "Society for Disability Studies" 

• "deaf rights" OR deaf-rights 

Asterisk * (widen your search results, in certain databases) 

• disab* = disabled, disability, disabilities  

  • Avoid if using quotation marks e.g., "disability studies"

• institut* = institutions, institution's, institutional

AND (narrows your search)

• disability AND institut*

• disabilit* AND subway AND access AND Toronto

OR (widens your search)

• autism OR Aspergers 

• memoir OR diary OR "personal essay" 

• disabilit* AND (subway OR TTC) AND (Toronto OR Ontario)

  • ROUNDED BRACKETS ( ... ) instruct the database on which words to target when using AND, OR, NOT (Toronto OR Ontario)

NOT (exclude from your search)

• disability NOT education 

• disability AND (India OR Indian OR Mumbai)  NOT (indigenous OR "North America")

ProQuest  

ProQuest is a platform containing over 100 databases. ProQuest contains publications (i.e., newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals, eBook titles, dissertation and theses) in different subjects areas.  

• Be sure to NARROW YOUR RESULTS to Scholarly Journals.
• Look for articles with in-text citations and bibliography - not all articles in a scholarly journal are research articles. 

1) Use the Advanced Search Tool  

2) Sort your Results 

• Sort your results (Relevance, Date) 
  • Sort by Date: It may be useful to arrange the results chronologically (oldest first) in order to follow the entire production process of a particular film, from gossip about potential stars to reviews and box-office grosses.

3) Using ProQuest Search Filters

• Narrow your search results using filters on left sidebar:
  • Source Type: Scholarly Journals, Book Chapter, eBook
  • Publication Title:   Canadian Journal of Disability Studies
  • Document Type: Feature, Front Page/Cover Story, Article 
  • Subject: trying sorting the list alphabetically.
  • Limit to specific Dates or Language  

4) Mark relevant records

If you find interesting articles, be sure to . 

• Go to the results page and click the check box to the left of the article title  
• When you are ready to email the articles to yourself, scroll to the top of the results list and click on Email link (on right side)
• Email the marked records to yourself 

Another option is to create a free ProQuest MyResearch account.

New York Times - Disability Column archive

Essays, art and opinion exploring the lives of people living with disabilities

Use these Newspaper Databases have filters to narrow down your search results: 

• Date
• Document Type: Feature, Front Page/Cover Story, Article 
• Publication Title