Chapter 8 Summary - The Bedford Researcher

Mike Palmquist, in chapter 8 of his book The Bedford Researcher, goes over ways of searching for information with digital resources. Palmquist goes over steps on preparing to search and searching for sources with online library catalogs, databases, web search sites, media search sites. The first part of chapter 8 is about when you are preparing to do your research, Palmquist recommends reviewing your research plan and proposal, then identifying key words and phrases, and finally planning both basic and advanced searches. The remainder of chapter 8 Palmquist describes, in detail, different ways to search for sources, like when using an online library catalog you can search by key word, title, or even author. Palmquist also recommends a list of databases depending on what you are looking for (some of which, I have used in my English 102 class) programs like, ProQuest, Academic Search Premier, and ERIC are only a few out of the many that he lists. Palmquist also recommends a list of web search engines, web directories, news sites, reference search sites, and blog search sites. All of these things which Palmquist mentions in chapter 8 are used to help you find sources, but not just any sources, helpful sources.