Start your research
OneSearch is a great place to start with if you aren't sure exactly what you are looking for and want to see what is out there for information!
In OneSearch you can find print and eBooks, journal articles, news, streaming video, images, primary sources and more.
Remember! Library databases do not function the same way as Google or other search engines. If you put an entire question into the search box, you will get results, but often they may not be relevant to your topic. Follow the steps below to break your question into keywords for better searches!
1. Take your topic or research question and break it into keywords or phrases.
Example) How do the distinct challenges and societal perceptions faced by climate refugees in the United States impact immigration policies?
2. Think of synonyms or related terms to come up with additional keywords you could use.
Example)
| Keyword 1: climate refugees | Keyword 2: United States | Keyword 3: immigration policies |
|---|---|---|
| environmental refugees | United States of America | migration policies |
| forced migration | America | emigration |
| environmental migration | U.S. | government policies |
| climate migration | U.S.A. | public policy |
Hint! Use a thesaurus and the Internet to help you come up with additional keywords.
Search Strings
Combine keywords and phrases to form a "search string."
Example) "climate refugees" AND immigration policies AND "United States"
or... ("climate refugees" OR "climate change") AND immigration AND "United States" AND policies
AND tells the database you are looking for ALL of the listed terms and will narrow your results
OR tells the database you want EITHER of the listed terms and will help expand your results if you're not finding what you're looking for
You can also use NOT to tell the database you do NOT want to see sources with the specified term(s).
Quotes
Notice how key phrases are grouped together with quotation marks.
Ex.) "climate refugees" / "United States"
Using quotes tells the database to search for the words together as a phrase instead of searching for each word independently. Note that while this can be a very helpful tool, especially when you are looking for a very specific phrase, sometimes you might want to try searching for the terms without quotes. It's a good idea to try searches using quotes around key phrases and without to see which results in better results.
Filters
Filters are a useful tool in narrowing your search results to the specific type of source you are looking for. The most common filters you will likely use are:
- Publication Date - typically you will look for sources published within the past 5-10 years, but depending on your research question or topic that range could change.
- Material Type - this filter is helpful when you are looking specifically for books, articles, or another type of resource. Be sure to consider which resource type will best fit your needs before applying this filter.
- Peer Reviewed - if you are looking for academic articles, you will most likely want to use the "Peer Reviewed" filter as these articles are often considered the "gold standard" of scholarly articles.
Although these are the most common types of filters people use when searching for resources, do not limit yourself to these and feel free to explore and use other available filters as you feel are useful and appropriate for your research.
Expand your Research by Source Type
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Biography Reference Bank This link opens in a new window
This biographical database offers in-depth profiles from Current Biography and World Authors, the periodical coverage of Biography Index and specialist content of Junior Authors & Illustrators. It provides full-text articles, images and abstracts from today’s leading magazines and journals. Contains nearly 1 million biographical records, as well as related essays and images.
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Biography Reference Source This link opens in a new windowBiography Reference Source provides thousands of unique and reliable full-text biographies, including the complete full text of Biography and Biography Today. In addition to keyword search, users can locate biographies by subject occupation, activity, nationality, gender, birthplace and more.
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MagillOnLiterature Plus This link opens in a new windowMagillOnLiterature Plus combines all of the quality content of both MagillOnLiterature and MagillOnAuthors in a fully integrated and enhanced single database. Contains biographical essays of the 2,500 most studied authors. More than 8,500 writers of fiction, poetry, drama, and essays are featured. More than 400 comprehensive essays on specific literary genres, themes and settings round out the collection. Includes a cross-referenced glossary of 1,800 literary words and phrases.
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Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new windowFormerly known as Grove Art Online, Oxford Art Online offers access to and cross-searching of Oxford’s regularly updated art reference works: the Grove Dictionary of Art and the Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Grove Art is the foremost scholarly art encyclopedia, offering global coverage of visual culture, composed and expanded in collaboration with thousands of scholars and specialists around the world. Benezit offers unique information about the sale and collection of artists’ work, and it is one of the most comprehensive and definitive resources of artists’ biographies available.
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OneSearch This link opens in a new window
Search Trinity's catalog and beyond for books, journal articles, streaming video, news articles, primary sources and more. Log in with your Trinity library account to see full results and request materials.
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Project MUSE (Journals & E-Books) This link opens in a new window
Full text of all journals of the John Hopkins University Press as well as some other selected university publishers. An important academic resource for the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Coverage generally from 1990s forward. Trinity also has full-text access to select eBooks from Project MUSE.
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EBSCOhost Ebook Collection This link opens in a new windowA collection of eBooks on a wide variety of topics.
Newspapers
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Access World News Research Collection (Newsbank) This link opens in a new windowA full-text news resource consisting of local, regional, national and international sources. Updated daily, it offers primary source information on today’s issues and events from newspapers, newswires, transcripts, video clips, web only, and blogs.
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U.S. Major Dailies (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Includes recent and current content of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Coverage: 1980-current. Individual titles have varying coverage dates.
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New York Times (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new windowArchive of the New York Times. Also contains New York Times Index and New York Times Sunday Magazine. Coverage: 1851-2021.
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Newspaper Source Plus This link opens in a new window
Newspaper Source Plus includes full-text U.S. and international newspapers, television and radio news transcripts, and newswires.
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Nexis UNI This link opens in a new window
Nexis Uni™ features news, business and legal sources from LexisNexis®, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790. Personalization features include Alerts and saved searches and a collaborative workspace with shared folders and annotated documents.
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Newspaper DatabasesBrowse additional newspaper and magazine databases available to you via the library.
Magazines
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Rolling Stone Archive This link opens in a new window
The archive of one of the most influential consumer magazines of the 20th-21st centuries. It has been a leading publication for rock and popular music journalism, as well as entertainment, society, and politics. Coverage: 1967-present (includes new issues).
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ARTnews byARTnews reports on the art, personalities, issues, trends and events shaping the international art world.
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EBSCO Magazine Archives This link opens in a new window
Digital magazine archives of select popular magazines, including covers and advertisements. Titles include: The Atlantic, Fortune, Life, New Republic, National Review, Nation, People, Sports Illustrated, and Time.
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VIBE Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
The full run of Vibe, the U.S. magazine of record for hip-hop culture from 1993-2014. Founded by Quincy Jones, Vibe not only offered influential reporting and news about rap, hip-hop, and R&B music but established mainstream media coverage of urban youth culture. It also raised the public visibility of many major hip-hop and R&B artists.
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Vogue Archive This link opens in a new window
The Vogue Archive contains the full run of the American version of Vogue. Every page, cover, advertisement, image, and fold out is indexed, searchable, and viewable in high-resolution color. Coverage: 1892-present (new issues added monthly).
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Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
This multi-disciplinary database provides active full text for more than 3,100 journals, including active full text for nearly 2,750 peer-reviewed journals.
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JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Archive of past issues of scholarly journals from all areas of study. Includes full runs of covered journals, excluding content from the past 2-5 years. Also includes eBooks and book chapters.
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MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new windowIndex for the study of language, literature, linguistics, rhetoric and composition, folklore, and film, covering scholarly publications from the early 20th century to the present. International in scope, it includes citations to journal articles, books, articles in books, series, translations, scholarly editions, websites, and dissertations, with links to full text in JSTOR, Project MUSE, and other resources.
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Taylor & Francis Social Science & Humanities Journals This link opens in a new window
Over 1,400 online journals from ca. 1997 - present.
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Sage Journals This link opens in a new window
Contains more than 1,000 journals in Business, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Science, Technology and Medicine.
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Art Index Retrospective This link opens in a new windowArt Index Retrospective (1929 -1984) provides users access to over half a century of art literature covering fine, decorative, and commercial art. Content includes indexing for nearly 600 publications, many of which are peer-reviewed, and citations of over 25,000 book reviews.
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Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
Web-based digital video delivery platform that allows viewing of thousands of streaming videos from Films Media Group anytime. Available for in-class use and remote viewing.
Notes: Works best with Firefox. Use the 'email this video' feature to send a film link, not the browser link.
Searching Tips: Register on campus in order to take advantage of all features. Once registered, you may log in from anywhere. -
Kanopy This link opens in a new windowEducational and feature films from major producers including California Newsreel, Criterion Collection, Green Planet Films, Kino Lorber, and others. For academic use only.
Films may need to be ordered in advance before viewing. See https://commons.trincoll.edu/library/2019/08/12/changes-to-kanopy-film-streaming-library/ for more details. -
PBS Video Collection This link opens in a new window
Streaming video documentaries and series from PBS. Subjects range from science to history, art to Shakespeare, diversity to business & economics, and more. Includes access to a select number of NOVA episodes.
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On The Boards This link opens in a new windowPortal for viewing full-length, high-quality performance films. It functions as a streaming subscription service and an archive for ground-breaking artistic projects and contemporary performances.
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Jacob's Pillow On Demand This link opens in a new window
Discover virtual commissions, recent short films of in-process work at Jacob's Pillow onsite artist residencies, archival clips, essays, and games. Includes Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive, a growing collection of full-length dance videos from the Jacob's Pillow archives.
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Docuseek2 Complete Collection (Second Edition) This link opens in a new windowThe Docuseek2 Complete Collection™: Second Edition will contain 1800 exclusive documentaries, upon completion in 2020. This collection of issues-based documentary films comes from leading producers and distributors, including Bullfrog Films, Icarus Films, the National Film Board of Canada, MediaStorm, Terra Nova Films, KimStim, and Scorpion TV, and other independent filmmakers from around the world. This collection focuses on environmental studies and sciences, sociology, anthropology, global studies, area studies, women’s studies, history, political science, criminal justice, health, psychology, the arts, and more.
Expand your Research by Discipline
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MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new windowIndex for the study of language, literature, linguistics, rhetoric and composition, folklore, and film, covering scholarly publications from the early 20th century to the present. International in scope, it includes citations to journal articles, books, articles in books, series, translations, scholarly editions, websites, and dissertations, with links to full text in JSTOR, Project MUSE, and other resources.
-
MagillOnLiterature Plus This link opens in a new windowMagillOnLiterature Plus combines all of the quality content of both MagillOnLiterature and MagillOnAuthors in a fully integrated and enhanced single database. Contains biographical essays of the 2,500 most studied authors. More than 8,500 writers of fiction, poetry, drama, and essays are featured. More than 400 comprehensive essays on specific literary genres, themes and settings round out the collection. Includes a cross-referenced glossary of 1,800 literary words and phrases.
-
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Archive of past issues of scholarly journals from all areas of study. Includes full runs of covered journals, excluding content from the past 2-5 years. Also includes eBooks and book chapters.
-
Project MUSE (Journals & E-Books) This link opens in a new window
Full text of all journals of the John Hopkins University Press as well as some other selected university publishers. An important academic resource for the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Coverage generally from 1990s forward. Trinity also has full-text access to select eBooks from Project MUSE.
Browse Related Guides
-
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Archive of past issues of scholarly journals from all areas of study. Includes full runs of covered journals, excluding content from the past 2-5 years. Also includes eBooks and book chapters.
-
Art Index Retrospective This link opens in a new windowArt Index Retrospective (1929 -1984) provides users access to over half a century of art literature covering fine, decorative, and commercial art. Content includes indexing for nearly 600 publications, many of which are peer-reviewed, and citations of over 25,000 book reviews.
-
Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new windowFormerly known as Grove Art Online, Oxford Art Online offers access to and cross-searching of Oxford’s regularly updated art reference works: the Grove Dictionary of Art and the Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Grove Art is the foremost scholarly art encyclopedia, offering global coverage of visual culture, composed and expanded in collaboration with thousands of scholars and specialists around the world. Benezit offers unique information about the sale and collection of artists’ work, and it is one of the most comprehensive and definitive resources of artists’ biographies available.
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ARTnews byARTnews reports on the art, personalities, issues, trends and events shaping the international art world.
Browse Related Guides
- Art & Architecture
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Fashion History Research Guide
by Amy Harrell Last Updated Jul 7, 2025 16 views this year
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JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Archive of past issues of scholarly journals from all areas of study. Includes full runs of covered journals, excluding content from the past 2-5 years. Also includes eBooks and book chapters.
-
Jacob's Pillow On Demand This link opens in a new window
Discover virtual commissions, recent short films of in-process work at Jacob's Pillow onsite artist residencies, archival clips, essays, and games. Includes Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive, a growing collection of full-length dance videos from the Jacob's Pillow archives.
-
On The Boards This link opens in a new windowPortal for viewing full-length, high-quality performance films. It functions as a streaming subscription service and an archive for ground-breaking artistic projects and contemporary performances.
-
Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
Oxford Music Online is the gateway to Grove Music Online, with additional access to search The Oxford Dictionary of Music and The Oxford Companion to Music. This resource for music research charts the diverse history and cultures of music from around the globe.
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Project MUSE (Journals & E-Books) This link opens in a new window
Full text of all journals of the John Hopkins University Press as well as some other selected university publishers. An important academic resource for the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Coverage generally from 1990s forward. Trinity also has full-text access to select eBooks from Project MUSE.
-
Rolling Stone Archive This link opens in a new window
The archive of one of the most influential consumer magazines of the 20th-21st centuries. It has been a leading publication for rock and popular music journalism, as well as entertainment, society, and politics. Coverage: 1967-present (includes new issues).
-
VIBE Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
The full run of Vibe, the U.S. magazine of record for hip-hop culture from 1993-2014. Founded by Quincy Jones, Vibe not only offered influential reporting and news about rap, hip-hop, and R&B music but established mainstream media coverage of urban youth culture. It also raised the public visibility of many major hip-hop and R&B artists.
Browse Related Guides
-
Music
by Amy Harrell Last Updated Sep 8, 2025 22 views this year
-
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Archive of past issues of scholarly journals from all areas of study. Includes full runs of covered journals, excluding content from the past 2-5 years. Also includes eBooks and book chapters.
-
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new windowIndex for the study of language, literature, linguistics, rhetoric and composition, folklore, and film, covering scholarly publications from the early 20th century to the present. International in scope, it includes citations to journal articles, books, articles in books, series, translations, scholarly editions, websites, and dissertations, with links to full text in JSTOR, Project MUSE, and other resources.
-
Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
Web-based digital video delivery platform that allows viewing of thousands of streaming videos from Films Media Group anytime. Available for in-class use and remote viewing.
Notes: Works best with Firefox. Use the 'email this video' feature to send a film link, not the browser link.
Searching Tips: Register on campus in order to take advantage of all features. Once registered, you may log in from anywhere. -
Kanopy This link opens in a new windowEducational and feature films from major producers including California Newsreel, Criterion Collection, Green Planet Films, Kino Lorber, and others. For academic use only.
Films may need to be ordered in advance before viewing. See https://commons.trincoll.edu/library/2019/08/12/changes-to-kanopy-film-streaming-library/ for more details. -
Docuseek2 Complete Collection (Second Edition) This link opens in a new windowThe Docuseek2 Complete Collection™: Second Edition will contain 1800 exclusive documentaries, upon completion in 2020. This collection of issues-based documentary films comes from leading producers and distributors, including Bullfrog Films, Icarus Films, the National Film Board of Canada, MediaStorm, Terra Nova Films, KimStim, and Scorpion TV, and other independent filmmakers from around the world. This collection focuses on environmental studies and sciences, sociology, anthropology, global studies, area studies, women’s studies, history, political science, criminal justice, health, psychology, the arts, and more.
Browse Related Guides
Get Help with Your Research
Meet Your Librarian!
-
Schedule an appointment with a Student Technology Assistant (STA)
- STAs will assist you with a wide range of project support.
- STAs help with technologies like: 3-D printing, digital video and audio production, Power Point, Keynote, poster designs, Oculus Rift VR, image editing using Photoshop and more.
- Located on Level 1 of the Library in the Center for Digital Scholarship.
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Trinity College's Peer Tutoring Cooperative
- Connect to a range of peer tutoring opportunities across campus.
- Covers different disciplines and research and academic support and assistance.
- The Peer Tutoring Cooperative includes: The Writing Center, Aetna Quantitative Center, Blume Language Culture & Learning Center, Peer Research Assistants in the Library, Academic Advising and Trinity's Subject-Based Tutoring Center.
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Research Handout - Getting StartedA worksheet guiding you through the topic development process of your research and getting you started searching for sources through library databases using keywords.
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Source Evaluation WorksheetThis worksheet guides you through some of the considerations to take into account when evaluating sources. It includes red flags to pay attention to within a source (vertical reading), as well as strategies for looking at other sources (lateral reading) to determine reliability.