Research Databases
- All Databases, A-Z Listing
- Biography
- Business & Economics
- Genealogy
- Government & Political Science
- Health & Psychology
- History
- Literature & Reading
- Newspapers
- Science
All Databases, A-Z Listing
ABC-CLIO World History: Ancient & Medieval Eras
Reference sources, primary sources, and images from antiquity to the 16th century
ABC-CLIO World History: Modern Era
Reference sources, primary sources, and images from the 1500s to present
Alt Health Watch
Provides information on complementary, holistic, and integrated approaches to healthcare and wellness.
AtoZ Databases
Detailed information on 30 million businesses and executives and 2 million new businesses. Includes data on over 200 million residents as well as new movers/homeowners. Special features include a background and criminal history search. Information provided on U. S. healthcare professionals. Includes a jobs database and email marketing.
Biography Reference Center
More than 450,000 biographies. Includes complete full text run of Biography Today and Biography Magazine as well as thousands of narrative biographies.
Britannica Encyclopedia
Quick facts and in-depth information on history, geography, people, places, science, and more.
Cameron's Collection
Resources for students facing stress, anxiety, & other mental health issues
Consumer Health Complete
Supports the health and wellness information needs of patients. Covers mainstream medicine as well as complementary and holistic medicine.
EBSCO eBooks
200,000+ full text, nonfiction titles
Environment Complete
Scholarly coverage in the areas of agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy
Explora for High Schools
Provides hundreds of popular magazines and reference books for high school libraries. Covers subjects such as art, history, sports, and music. Includes thousands of biographies and primary source documents.
Gale eBooks
Find chapters or articles within reference volumes on all subjects
Gale in Context: High School
Recommendation: click on Browse Topics to start your research. Contains overviews, multimedia, articles, scholarly sources, & web links.
Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints
Current insight into today's most debated political and social issues
Gale Primary Sources
Original historical documents, meticulously cross-referenced
Health Source
Subjects include fitness, nutrition, diabetes, aging, & women's health
History Reference Center
Documents, photos, maps, film, and video from leading history journals, plus biographies of historical figures
Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center
Arts & crafts, games & electronics, outdoors & nature
Humanities Source
Covers literary, scholarly, and creative thought
JSTOR
Academic journals, books, & primary sources. Create an account to get 100 articles free each month.
Literary Reference Center
Summaries, literary criticism, reviews, novels, & author interviews
MasterFile Complete
Popular full-text magazines and reference books. Contains Consumer Reports. Covers subjects including: business, health, education, fitness, sports and leisure, personal finance, general science, multicultural issues, DIY, and fashion.
MyHeritage Reference Center
Family history/genealogy resource including more than 6 billion historical ​records from the United States, Europe, Latin America, and other regions
Newspaper Source Plus
Millions of articles as well as transcripts from radio & tv
New York Times
Activate your access with your @bps-schools.com email address. After activation, you need to open your email and confirm.
NoveList Plus
Find just the right book by subject, awards won, made into movies, etc.
Points of View Reference Center
Multiple Sides of 400+ issues to help develop persuasive arguments
Political Science Complete
Covers political topics with a worldwide focus
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
Covers a broad range of subjects in the fields of psychology, behavioral sciences, and related disciplines.
Science Reference Center
Reference sources on biology, chemistry, earth & space science, environment, health, history of science, life science, physics, & wildlife
Small Business Reference Center
Covers all aspects of starting and operating a business. Includes information on accounting, finance, human resources, management, marketing, tax, and more. State-specific information included.
Wall Street Journal
Breaking news and current headlines from the US & around the globe
Biography
ABC-CLIO World History: Ancient & Medieval Eras
Reference sources, primary sources, and images from antiquity to the 16th century
ABC-CLIO World History: Modern Era
Reference sources, primary sources, and images from the 1500s to present
Biography Reference Center
More than 450,000 biographies. Includes complete full text run of Biography Today and Biography Magazine as well as thousands of narrative biographies.
Britannica Encyclopedia
Quick facts and in-depth information on history, geography, people, places, science, and more.
EBSCO eBooks
200,000+ full text, nonfiction titles
Gale eBooks
Find chapters or articles within reference volumes on all subjects
Gale in Context: High School
Recommendation: click on Browse Topics to start your research. Contains overviews, multimedia, articles, scholarly sources, & web links.
History Reference Center
Documents, photos, maps, film, and video from leading history journals, plus biographies of historical figures
Business & Economics
AtoZ Databases
Detailed information on 30 million businesses and executives and 2 million new businesses. Includes data on over 200 million residents as well as new movers/homeowners. Special features include a background and criminal history search. Information provided on U. S. healthcare professionals. Includes a jobs database and email marketing.
Biography Reference Center
More than 450,000 biographies. Includes complete full text run of Biography Today and Biography Magazine as well as thousands of narrative biographies.
EBSCO eBooks
200,000+ full text, nonfiction titles
Explora for High Schools
Provides hundreds of popular magazines and reference books for high school libraries. Covers subjects such as art, history, sports, and music. Includes thousands of biographies and primary source documents.
Gale eBooks
Find chapters or articles within reference volumes on all subjects
Gale in Context: High School
Recommendation: click on Browse Topics to start your research. Contains overviews, multimedia, articles, scholarly sources, & web links.
Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints
Current insight into today's most debated political and social issues
JSTOR
Academic journals, books, & primary sources. Create an account to get 100 articles free each month.
MasterFile Complete
Popular full-text magazines and reference books. Contains Consumer Reports. Covers subjects including: business, health, education, fitness, sports and leisure, personal finance, general science, multicultural issues, DIY, and fashion.
New York Times
Activate your access with your @bps-schools.com email address. After activation, you need to open your email and confirm.
Points of View Reference Center
Multiple Sides of 400+ issues to help develop persuasive arguments
Political Science Complete
Covers political topics with a worldwide focus
Small Business Reference Center
Covers all aspects of starting and operating a business. Includes information on accounting, finance, human resources, management, marketing, tax, and more. State-specific information included.
Wall Street Journal
Breaking news and current headlines from the US & around the globe
Genealogy
MyHeritage Reference Center
Family history/genealogy resource including more than 6 billion historical ​records from the United States, Europe, Latin America, and other regions
Government & Political Science
Explora for High Schools
Provides hundreds of popular magazines and reference books for high school libraries. Covers subjects such as art, history, sports, and music. Includes thousands of biographies and primary source documents.
Gale in Context: High School
Recommendation: click on Browse Topics to start your research. Contains overviews, multimedia, articles, scholarly sources, & web links.
Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints
Current insight into today's most debated political and social issues
JSTOR
Academic journals, books, & primary sources. Create an account to get 100 articles free each month.
MasterFile Complete
Popular full-text magazines and reference books. Contains Consumer Reports. Covers subjects including: business, health, education, fitness, sports and leisure, personal finance, general science, multicultural issues, DIY, and fashion.
Newspaper Source Plus
Millions of articles as well as transcripts from radio & tv
New York Times
Activate your access with your @bps-schools.com email address. After activation, you need to open your email and confirm.
Points of View Reference Center
Multiple Sides of 400+ issues to help develop persuasive arguments
Political Science Complete
Covers political topics with a worldwide focus
Wall Street Journal
Breaking news and current headlines from the US & around the globe
Health & Psychology
Alt Health Watch
Provides information on complementary, holistic, and integrated approaches to healthcare and wellness.
Cameron's Collection
Resources for students facing stress, anxiety, & other mental health issues
Consumer Health Complete
Supports the health and wellness information needs of patients. Covers mainstream medicine as well as complementary and holistic medicine.
EBSCO eBooks
200,000+ full text, nonfiction titles
Explora for High Schools
Provides hundreds of popular magazines and reference books for high school libraries. Covers subjects such as art, history, sports, and music. Includes thousands of biographies and primary source documents.
Gale eBooks
Find chapters or articles within reference volumes on all subjects
Gale in Context: High School
Recommendation: click on Browse Topics to start your research. Contains overviews, multimedia, articles, scholarly sources, & web links.
Health Source
Subjects include fitness, nutrition, diabetes, aging, & women's health
JSTOR
Academic journals, books, & primary sources. Create an account to get 100 articles free each month.
New York Times
Activate your access with your @bps-schools.com email address. After activation, you need to open your email and confirm.
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
Covers a broad range of subjects in the fields of psychology, behavioral sciences, and related disciplines.
Science Reference Center
Reference sources on biology, chemistry, earth & space science, environment, health, history of science, life science, physics, & wildlife
Wall Street Journal
Breaking news and current headlines from the US & around the globe
History
ABC-CLIO World History: Ancient & Medieval Eras
Reference sources, primary sources, and images from antiquity to the 16th century
ABC-CLIO World History: Modern Era
Reference sources, primary sources, and images from the 1500s to present
Biography Reference Center
More than 450,000 biographies. Includes complete full text run of Biography Today and Biography Magazine as well as thousands of narrative biographies.
Britannica Encyclopedia
Quick facts and in-depth information on history, geography, people, places, science, and more.
Digital Public Library of America
Online exhibitions & primary source sets.
EBSCO eBooks
200,000+ full text, nonfiction titles
Explora for High Schools
Provides hundreds of popular magazines and reference books for high school libraries. Covers subjects such as art, history, sports, and music. Includes thousands of biographies and primary source documents.
Gale eBooks
Find chapters or articles within reference volumes on all subjects
Gale in Context: High School
Recommendation: click on Browse Topics to start your research. Contains overviews, multimedia, articles, scholarly sources, & web links.
Gale Primary Sources
Original historical documents, meticulously cross-referenced
History Reference Center
Documents, photos, maps, film, and video from leading history journals, plus biographies of historical figures
JSTOR
Academic journals, books, & primary sources. Create an account to get 100 articles free each month.
Library of Congress: Finding Primary Sources
Primary sources of American history
New York Times: TimesMachine
Primary sources! View all back issues of the NYTimes from 1851 to 2002, exactly as they originally appeared.
Literature & Reading
Explora for High Schools
Provides hundreds of popular magazines and reference books for high school libraries. Covers subjects such as art, history, sports, and music. Includes thousands of biographies and primary source documents.
Gale eBooks
Find chapters or articles within reference volumes on all subjects
Gale in Context: High School
Recommendation: click on Browse Topics to start your research. Contains overviews, multimedia, articles, scholarly sources, & web links.
Humanities Source
Covers literary, scholarly, and creative thought
JSTOR
Academic journals, books, & primary sources. Create an account to get 100 articles free each month.
Literary Reference Center
Summaries, literary criticism, reviews, novels, & author interviews
NoveList Plus
Find just the right book by subject, awards won, made into movies, etc.
Newspapers
Gale in Context: High School
Recommendation: click on Browse Topics to start your research. Contains overviews, multimedia, articles, scholarly sources, & web links.
Newspaper Source Plus
Millions of articles as well as transcripts from radio & tv
New York Times
Activate your access with your @bps-schools.com email address. After activation, you need to open your email and confirm.
New York Times: TimesMachine
Primary sources! View all back issues of the NYTimes from 1851 to 2002, exactly as they originally appeared.
Wall Street Journal
Breaking news and current headlines from the US & around the globe
Science
Britannica Encyclopedia
Quick facts and in-depth information on history, geography, people, places, science, and more.
EBSCO eBooks
200,000+ full text, nonfiction titles
Environment Complete
Scholarly coverage in the areas of agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy
Explora for High Schools
Provides hundreds of popular magazines and reference books for high school libraries. Covers subjects such as art, history, sports, and music. Includes thousands of biographies and primary source documents.
Gale eBooks
Find chapters or articles within reference volumes on all subjects
Gale in Context: High School
Recommendation: click on Browse Topics to start your research. Contains overviews, multimedia, articles, scholarly sources, & web links.
JSTOR
Academic journals, books, & primary sources. Create an account to get 100 articles free each month.
Science Reference Center
Reference sources on biology, chemistry, earth & space science, environment, health, history of science, life science, physics, & wildlife
Resources for Class Projects
- APUSH: Influential American Project
- World History: "Where would you want to live in the Bronze Age?"
APUSH: Influential American Project
1. Get organized! Don't waste your research efforts; be organized from the beginning. Consider how you will take notes and cite your sources.
NoodleTools is available to all students and has an easy option to add an annotation to your bibliography.
Writing Graphic Organizer is a worksheet that can help you ensure that you're fulfilling project requirements. The three body paragraphs / subtopics on this doc correlate with your three informational requirements:
- Brief biography
- Secondary claims that explain their achievement
- Secondary claims that explain the impact of their achievement.
These three points will feed right into your thesis...
Thesis Statement Guide - use this to craft a comprehensive thesis statement that includes what this person is noted for and how it changed their field.
2. Choose your topic. Begin with background research.
During this part of the research process, it is appropriate to use Google or a chatbot for brainstorming and refining your topic. However, you may be better off using one of the following databases, which will link you to researchable topics and credible sources:
Gale in Context: High School
Click on Browse Topics to start your research. Then select "Biography." As soon as you get to a person's page, check the "Quick Facts" to verify that their Nationality is American.
Britannica Encyclopedia
Click on Biography, then filter using National/Cultural Association "American." You can filter further in the "Known for..." category, too!
Biography Reference Center
Browse by genre, but note the nationality of each person.
ABC-CLIO World History: Modern Era
Try searching for a topic of interest, then filter your search results to "Biographies."
3. Once you've chosen your influential American to research, you will have to seek out additional resources to fulfill the project requirements. Try out our databases!
It may seem obvious to use the person's name as your keyword (i.e., "Mae Jemison") but don't forget about searching specifically for their accomplishments. For example, if Jemison was your person, you might also want to search for...
- "BioSentient Corporation," her medical technology company
- Increased inclusion/involvement of minorities and/or women in NASA and/or STEM fields following Jemison
- Advancements in technology related to Jemison's experiments in space, etc.
And don't forget about your primary sources! Here are some sources to help you find images, videos, and newspaper articles from the past:
New York Times: TimesMachine
Primary sources! View all back issues of the NYTimes from 1851 to 2002, exactly as they originally appeared.
*You will need the assistance of software like NoodleTools to help you cite these sources. In NoodleTools, New Source, choose "Website" then "Newspaper."
ABC-CLIO World History: Modern Era
Reference sources, primary sources, and images from the 1500s to present
Digital Public Library of America
Online exhibitions & primary source sets.
Gale Primary Sources
Original historical documents, meticulously cross-referenced
JSTOR
Academic journals, books, & primary sources. Create an account to get 100 articles free each month.
Library of Congress: Finding Primary Sources
Primary sources of American history
Need more help? Visit your librarian or refresh your memory with Mrs. Truesdell's slides from the research intro lesson.
World History: "Where would you want to live in the Bronze Age?"
"Harappa Emerges As Major Indus River Valley City"
From: Global Events: Milestone Events Throughout History (Vol. 2: Asia and Oceania. )
"Indus Valley Civilization"
From: Encyclopedia of India (Vol. 2. )
"Indus Valley Religion"
From: Encyclopedia of Religion (Vol. 7. 2nd ed.)
UXL World Eras, Volume 1: Ancient Mesopotamia
UXL World Eras, Volume 2: Ancient Egypt
This series provides in-depth coverage of a given era, focusing on a cultural group and its interaction with other peoples of the world, with a strong emphasis on daily life and social history.
World Eras, Volume 5: Ancient Egypt
World Eras, Volume 8: Ancient Mesopotamia
Examines major civilizations that have flourished from antiquity to modern times, with a global perspective and a strong emphasis on daily life and social history.
Go to "Browse Topics" and choose:
- Ancient China
- Ancient Egypt
- Ancient Middle East
Tip: Try out the "search within" feature on each Topic Page. For example, if you are already on the Ancient Egypt page, search within for "health" to narrow down your results to health-related articles about Ancient Egypt.
ABC-CLIO World History: Ancient & Medieval Eras
Tip: Search for "Harappa" as well as "Indus River Valley" to get more results.
Database Passwords
A library database is an online searchable collection of information. Library databases contain copyrighted, licensed, proprietary information that is not free -- but don't worry, because the bill has already been paid! A portion of your tax dollars are used to fund education and schools. Libraries buy subscriptions to databases so you can find research and information on a variety of topics.
To prove that you are a licensed user of these resources, you may be asked to provide a username and/or password.
Please note, students must be logged in to their @bps-schools.com Google account to gain access to the password document.
NoodleTools Research Platform
Cite your sources! Take notes! Organize your research!
Additional Online Resources
Baldwin Public Library
All BPS students and staff are eligible for a Baldwin Library card, free of charge. Use it to check out books and access most online databases.
Michigan eLibrary
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a free search engine that helps users find scholarly literature from many sources and disciplines. It can be used to search for: articles, books, theses, abstracts, and court opinions.
Google Scholar ranks documents based on a number of factors, including:
- The full text of the document
- The publication source
- The author
- How often and recently it has been cited in other scholarly literature
Google Scholar's citation feature provides citations in various formats, such as MLA, APA, and Chicago, which can be copied and pasted into work.
Some tips for using Google Scholar include:
- To find newer articles, click Since Year in the left sidebar
- To see only the new additions, click Sort by date in the left sidebar
- To receive new results by email, click the envelope icon in the left sidebar
- If a paper or article links to a commercial publisher website, ask a librarian to help find a copy
Research & Writing Tips
Research process:
Choosing a topic:
Searching for sources:
- Create a Keyword Search (online interactive)
- Database Search Skills
- Top 5 Searching Strategies
- Understanding Library Terms for Research
Evaluating sources:
Taking notes & drafting your project: