LibGuides: English Language: Research

Search for Articles Using the Main OCtopus Search Box

OCtopus Tutorial

OCtopus Tutorial
An introduction to OCtopus, basic and advanced search, and limiters, along with search tips.

Library Databases

1. Select important concepts or ideas from your research question.

2. Brainstorm related keywords using alternative words or phrases:

synonyms
broader or more general terms
narrower or more specific terms
related terms

Tips:

Join words with AND, OR, NOT to narrow or broaden search results.
Use limiters such as date, demographic, gender, geographic area to get more focused results.
Evaluate your source to ensure it is produced by a reputable source.
Provide references and identify where and how the information you used was produced, who created it, and where it came from.
Use quotes to create phrases or join two words to form a single concept (such as "global warming")

Academic Search Premier
Academic Search Complete is a multi-disciplinary full text database containing full text for more than 4,650 journals, including more than 3,900 peer-reviewed titles. In addition to the full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for over 8,450 journals. This scholarly collection offers information in nearly every area of academic study, including computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, ethnic studies, and more.

In some cases, certain publishers do not grant certain rights specific to their content. Check content for any restrictions.

License definitions & additional information

Permission to include content in coursepacks is NOT included under the terms of this license.

CREATE PERSISTENT LINKS to individual articles for access by Authorized Users for Permitted Uses under this Agreement, from within secure authentication environments. ELECTRONIC RESERVES / VIRTUAL LEARNING: Members and Authorized Users may incorporate parts of the Licensed Material in resource lists and in any other material (including but not limited to multi-media works) to be used in the course of instruction and/or in virtual and managed environments (including but not limited to virtual learning environments, managed learning environments, virtual research environments and library environments) hosted on a Secure Network (only accessible to Authorized Users by Secure Authentication). Each item shall carry appropriate acknowledgment of the source, listing title and copyright owner.

INTERLIBRARY LOAN by paper or electronic means, a single copy of an individual document within the guidelines of traditional interlibrary loan practices and applicable copyright laws.
Flipster
Digital magazine platform

Current titles:
• Adbusters
• Animation
• BC Business
• Canadian Geographic
• Car and Driver
• Comics and Gaming
• Creative Non-fiction
• Decanter
• ESPN Magazine
• Mindful
• New Yorker
• Rolling Stone
• Sky News
• Vogue
• Walrus
• Wired
Global Issues in Context
Global Issues In Context supports global awareness and provides a global perspective while tying together a wealth of authoritative content, empowering learners to critically analyze and understand the most important issues of the modern world.

Integrating news, global viewpoints, reference materials, country information, primary source documents, videos, statistics, and more in a single search—Global Issues In Context is updated daily and offers 250 different country topic pages and more than 400 Issue pages. Exclusive to Global Issues In Context, Global Issues Viewpoints contains more than 3,000 exclusive commentaries that provide background and guidance on significant topics.
MAS Ultra (School Edition)
A comprehensive database designed specifically for high school level students that contains full text for more than 500 popular, high school magazines.

Canadian Resources

Encyclopedia of British Columbia (E-book)
BC specific encyclopedia that includes historic photographs, statistics, maps, tables, charts & diagrams, sound clips, video clips and website links.

EBC is the definitive reference work on British Columbia. With more than 4,000 entries and 1,500 accompanying photographs, maps, charts and tables, as well as sound and video clips, EBC is the source of readable and authoritative information on all the significant BC people, places and things.
CIA World Factbook
"Provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities."

Includes some information about GDP by sector as well as labour force by sector.
Canadian Encyclopedia (E-Book)
Digital interactive version of The Canadian Encyclopedia

The Canadian Encyclopedia contains more than 35,000 articles in English and French and more than 30,000 multimedia items including images, maps, games, audio and video. The new interactive features include curated content exhibits, interactive timelines, immediate updates of important events and a user-generated content map that invites Canadians to share their stories.
Canadian Major Dailies
Coverage from 1985-Present. Articles from the major Canadian newspapers including the National Post, the Globe & Mail, Times Colonist, Montreal Gazette, and the Vancouver Sun. Usually a 2-7 day delay in newspaper article updates.

This database will time-out after 30 minutes of inactivity. To avoid losing your research, please save your results within that time period. Browsing/marking results does not constitute activity.

Westcoast Reader

A newspaper for English Language learners about British Columbia and Canada. There is a free catalogue of articles are in different formats and reading levels.

Okanagan College library has access to the digital newspaper and teacher notes that contain activity sheets. Instructors should contact their subject librarian or the collections librarian at ghutton@okanagan.bc.ca for access.