Guide to Finding Editorials
Why use editorials?
Editorials provide you with specific opinions or viewpoints on a given issue. As a rule,
editorials focus on current, controversial topics. As you begin to search for information keep in
mind the dates when your topic was of particular interest. You are most likely to get the best
results in your search for topics of national, rather than local or regional, interest.
Finding editorials in electronic databases
To enter the databases:
- From the
Undergraduate Library
home page, click on
Articles in the
Find category on the left side of the screen.
- The databases included in the
Starting Points (General Databases) and
Newspapers links will provide good starting points for finding editorials.
General search tips:
- Avoid using the terms pro and con in your search, unless the issue frequently uses pro- or con-
to identify supporters of the position (i.e. pro-life, pro-choice, anti-abortion).
- Read the abstracts of the editorials, when available, as these will provide you with a brief
summary of the writer's viewpoint.
Recommended databases for locating editorials:
Academic
OneFile
(InfoTrac)
- Select
Keyword Search in the left-hand navigation bar.
- Type in your keywords and editorial in the search box. For example:
stem cells and editorial
- To limit your search to full text editorials:
- Click
Limit search in the left-hand navigation bar.
- Click
to articles with text box.
- Click
Submit.
- To view individual editorials click on the
Text or
PDF link for a citation.
Academic Search Premier
(EBSCOHost)
- Type your search terms in the search box(es).
- Go to the
Limit your results section of the page and in the
Document Type category select
Editorial.
- To view individual editorials click on the
HTML Full Text or
PDF Full Text links. If neither of these links is included, an editorial is not
full-text in this database.
LexisNexis Academic
- Select the
Power Search tab.
- Enter your search term(s) and the following: AND editorial
- In the Select Sources section select U.S. Newspapers and Wires
- Select a desired date range.
- Click
Search.
-
Please note:
All results retrieved in this database will be full text. Click on the newspaper name to view
the accompanying editorial.
Sources for Editorials/Essays in General Magazines in the Undergraduate Library
The titles below are a located in the Undergraduate Library Periodicals section. Titles are
shelved alphabetically.
Note:
Browsing for two articles on a particular issue is not recommended; this list is simply to
give you an idea of available sources.
- Atlantic Monthly
- Business Week
- Christianity Today
- Environment
- Forbes
- In These Times
- Mother Jones
- Nation
- New Republic
- New Yorker
- Newsweek
- Policy Review
- Progressive
- Public Interest
- Reason
- Science
- U.S. News & World Report
- Utne Reader
Print a handout for
Finding Editorials.
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