Background Information & Statistics

Resources for Finding Background Information

Links to relevant databases useful for finding full text background information in academic level electronic sources.

Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. Provides searchable full-text e-book versions of over 3,500 reference works, including multi-volume encyclopedias, biographical collections, business plan handbooks, company history compilations, consumer health references, and specialized handbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc. in a wide range of subject areas.
Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
Covers a wide range of controversial topics and results may include sources such as magazine, newspaper or journal articles, government documents, political position papers, public policy statements, legal and legislative materials, pamphlets, statistical data, biographies, court cases, and links websites.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Full-text detailed reports on controversial social, economic, political, educational, health, environmental, technology, and current topics. Each report includes an abstract, overview, background summary, current situation, outlook, special focus, chronology, pro/con, and bibliography.
Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
Collection of 260+ Reference books; including dictionaries, encyclopedias, and books of quotations, includes resources in a wide range of fields.

Newspaper Search for Statistics and Background Information

US Newsstream This link opens in a new window
Provides access to many major U.S. and international newspapers, including local titles (LA Times, Orange County Register) and national titles.
Los Angeles Times: 1996-present This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text (HTML text, not PDF) of the 'Los Angeles Times' newspaper. Searchable by keyword, subject, author, and other means. Provides a Topic Guide of subjects, and has a Search Alert service. No images (charts, graphs, photos) are included.
Orange County Register This link opens in a new window
Access to the Orange County Register via the California Custom News Collection (Newsbank). This link is to all the formats that are available in Newsbank.

Journal Articles

Complete List of AGNG Databases

To access a complete list of databases recommended for AGNG research, please use the "Articles" link from the main Aging Studies guide.

This link from the Pollak Library Web site offers another way to access a list of databases recommended for AGNG research.

Google Scholar Via the Pollak Library

Use Google Scholar to search through thousands of journals, many of which the Pollak Library owns. You can also find patents and legal documents with Google Scholar.

By connecting Google Scholar to the Pollak Library, you have access to a special "Pollak Library Find It!" link in order to determine if a particular item of interest is available full-text online, in print, or through interlibrary loan.

If you experience a challenge with connecting to Google Scholar from off campus, the information on this page offers one way to configure Google Scholar so that it connects with resources available through the Pollak Library.

Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Search for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all subjects. Use Google Scholar to find articles from a wide variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles available across the web.

Internet Resources

Internet Searching

Please read the information below to learn how you can construct a search of government Web sites in Google for information on your research topic.

Did You Know?

You can search for government Web sites in Google by typing: site:.gov [skipping a space and then entering your search term(s)]

To search education Web sites, please type: site:.edu [skipping a space and then entering your search term(s)]

For a search of organization Web sites, please type: site:.org [skipping a space and then entering your search term(s)]

Additional Tip

If needed, please try searches using different keywords, as well as placing your keywords in a different order. Also, if you are searching for a specific phrase, you may wish to place quotation marks around the phrase in order to find the phrase words together.

As always, please take the time to evaluate your sources.

Sample Keywords for Statistics

As you look for statistical information, some keywords you may want to include in different searches are:

statistic, data, prevalence, incidence, survey, rate, demographic, population, characteristic, trend, sample

Policy Information From Think Tanks and Other Entities

The following information is from an online library guide created by Karen Hartman, Natalie Borisovets, and Katie Anderson of the Rutgers University Libraries.

Aging Studies: AGNG 503