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ENGL 110 Webster Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (Fall 2025)

How to use this guide

Exploring : Research Tools

This page provides easy access to multi-subject research databases and subject specific databases that are relevant to the topics discussed in Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. 

Exploring: Source Types

Different types information sources offer information with different levels of complexity. Use this page to learn more about 

Exploring: Different Subject Perspectives

Every student will approach an assignment with their own interests and knowledge. Use this page to see how different subject perspectives can contribute to your understanding of the topic you've chosen.

Research is an iterative process

1. Identify
Look at and dissect your assignment - what question or questions are you asked to respond to? Are you looking for a specific answer or exploring the connections between ideas? What information do you already know and what are you unsure about? Can you make the questions relevant to your interests?
2. Brainstorm
You need keywords to search most search engines or databases. Keep an ongoing list of words that you've used. You'll want to try them out in different search tools. Read more about searching with keywords.
3. Choose
What type of search tool is best for this task/question? Different search tools will show you different sources. Mega search tools like Google will show a mixture of results from businesses, newspaper, government website, blogs, podcasts, videos and writings from a variety of types of sources like newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals. College and university libraries subscribe to multi-subject databases and have lots of subject specific databases. Read more about library databases "Why Library Databases?"
4. Assess
Try out your search, look at the results, and choose sources to get started. Grab as many details about the source as possible — enough details to write a full citation is the best strategy. Some sources you look at will not work and you'll know it immediately. Some you'll need to read or scan to decide if you want to invest more time in reading and understanding how they help address your question or add to your knowledge.
5. Read reflect
Read. Read. Read. Research is reading. Close reading and taking notes on your sources is crucial to increasing your comprehension. The more you read, the more you'll have something to write about.
6. Adjust strategy
  • Does that source work for you? Do you need additional perspectives?
  • After reading the sources, do you still have gaps in information?
  • Rethink your keywords
  • Rethink your search tools
  • Ask for help from your instructor or your librarian
7. Repeat
It is worth it to go back to your original writing prompt or your research question. With the new information you read, search experiences you had (good and bad experiences), and your research perspective, you can get improved searching results.