Searching for Signed Op-Ed (Opinion-Editorial) Articles
EN 1311 (Spring 2008), Louis J. Blume Library, http://library.stmarytx.edu/acadlib/
Diane M. Duesterhoeft, dduesterhoeft@stmarytx.edu, (210) 436-3346; Reference Desk: (210) 436-3508
Objectives: By the end of this session, you should:
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Become more familiar with some of the library’s subscription newspaper databases and tips in searching them
Find an op-ed article that you might use
Understand what a source “citation” is
Feel comfortable asking a reference librarian for assistance with your research questions
Save this document to your laptop.
From the Blume Library home page, go to Databases Listed Alphabetically. Or select Databases Listed by
Subject, then Newspapers & News Reports Databases
You will search for an opinion article (make sure there is a byline or author) about Hurricane Katrina.
The following are several subscription databases you might search.
Select InfoTrac Custom Newspapers
Type hurricane katrina and opinion then click Search .
You will see a list of results with the newest articles at the top. Select an article and make sure there is
a byline with the article.
Copy the source citation of the article you select here. Be sure to add the author (last name, first name)
at the beginning of the citation:
From the library web site, select Newspaper Source
Type hurricane katrina in the first search box
In the second row, type opinion and select the TI Title field. then click Search .
You will see a list of results with the newest articles at the top.
Select an article that has OPINION at the beginning of the title and make sure there is a byline with the
article. Enter the citation information (author, article title, publication title, date, and page number(s), if
provided):
From the library web site, select LexisNexis
Click on News in the topic bar
In the first search box, type hurricane katrina. From the drop down menu below the search box,
select In Indexing – Any Reference
In the second search box, type opinions. From the drop down menu below the search box, select In
Indexing – Any Reference
Select a time period of less than one year ago. Click Search .
Look for an item that indicates OPINION, EDITORIAL, or COMMENTARY and that has an individual
author (byline). Select an item and enter the citation information (author, article title, publication title,
date, and page number(s), if provided):
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