National newspapers, city papers, local small town papers, and international newspapers can all provide useful
information. Newspapers can provide a historical perspective. They allow you to go back in time and read descriptions and
discussions of events written at the time they were happening.
What is a newspaper editorial?
Editorials are usually written by or on the behalf of a newspaper editor and give an opinion about a topical issue. Even
though editorials may not be “factual”, they can be an important part of research because they force us to consider
opinions and sides of an issue that we may not believe or even imagine.
Newspapers on the Internet
Newspapers all over the world have established their own websites. Some have made newspapers available for free, others a
limited amount of content for free. Libraries subscribe to newspaper indexes. These allow you to search for topics that
have been published in newspapers.
Question #1 – Newspaper Database
Find the home page for De Anza College Library:
http://www.deanza.edu/library/
Look for the link (left side), Article & Video Databases
Select Newspaper Source Plus
This is a newspaper database/index that De Anza subscribes to
Open this database.
Students logging in from off campus use their 8 digit student id as the password.
Look for the Publication Date box
and limit your search to 2014 – 2015 (we want current articles)
Check the full text box (we want the entire article)
Enter the terms: same sex marriage
Scroll up and down the list of results.
Tell me the names of two different articles that you see listed.
E-mail yourself one of the articles. Did it work?
Question #2 – Newspaper Database; searching for editorials.
Re-read What is an editorial? at the top of this assignment page.
Find the home page for De Anza College Library
Open the link for Article & Video Databases
Newspaper Source Plus (Ebsco is the company that makes this database)
Start a New Search & limit to the years 2013-2015
In the white search box enter the terms: health care editorial
Open one of the editorials.
What is the title of the editorial?
What is the title of the newspaper it is published in?
Date?
Tell me one piece of information the editorial suggests.
Question #3 – Historical New York Times 1851 – 2010
The New York Times is the largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States and is regarded as a national newspaper of
record. It was founded in 1851, and our next database contains full text New York Times articles back to 1851. Wow!
Find the home page for De Anza College Library:
http://www.deanza.edu/library/
Open the link for Article & Video Databases, and find
Historical New York Times 1851-2010
De Anza subscribes to this database.
You are looking for headline news about the assassination of the U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
Go to Advanced Search
Type Kennedy in the search box.
Set the Publication Date – On this date: November 23, 1963
In Document type, check Front Page article, then click Search
On the search results page, hover over the Preview link.
What does the Preview link show?
Next, open the first article, Gov. Connally Shot …
What do you see?
Question #4 – Historical New York Times 1851 – 2010
Return to the main menu for Historical New York Times
Basic search
I am writing a paper about when Alaska became a state.
Enter the words Alaska and statehood
Look through the results, most of them should be in the 1950’s.
Look for article number 5, 6, or 7.
Tell me the title of one of these articles.
Tell me the full date: day, month, and year of the article.
Question #5 – Historical New York Times 1851 – 2010
Why are old newspaper articles useful for serious research?
Give me an example of when you might use this database.
“When I am writing a research paper” is not an example.
Question #6 – Enough historical! I want to read today’s New York Times!
ok!
http://www.nytimes.com/
Don’t go to today’s paper … use above link
Look for and open the Opinion category.
Opinion category toward top of site.
Scroll all the way up and down and see many editorials and opinions.
Open one editorial that is interesting to you.
What is the title?
Who wrote it? What is the date?
Very briefly (no copy and paste), what is it about?
Question #7 – Today’s New York Times!
http://www.nytimes.com/
Return to the front page of the New York Times
Select an article of interest to you.
What is the title? What is the date? Is there an author?
Try to e-mail it to yourself (probably will not work, did it?)
I truly enjoy the New York Times online! Beautiful, but you need to subscribe for full access.
Question #8: Newspapers Us & Worldwide: http://www.refdesk.com/paper.html
There are many ways to locate newspapers. But for this assignment, we are going to use the list from the link above.
http://www.refdesk.com/paper.html
Use the link above.
Look for South America, then Argentina
Next, look for the Buenos Aires Herald
Open the link to the newspaper.
Tell me the title of one story featured today.
What is the date? Is it today?
Question #9 –
Locating an international newspaper, then using Google translate it to English.
Return to: http://www.refdesk.com/paper.html
I would like to know what is going on in Ecuador.
South America, then Ecuador.
Select and open the paper
Diario El Universo (Quito is the Capitol city)
Well… this paper is not in English…
No problem.
Open a new window in your browser.
Google search: Google translate
Here is the link to Google translate:
http://translate.google.com/#
Copy the web address from the newspaper El Universo
http://www.eluniverso.com
And paste it into the Google translate box.
Don’t worry about the “from” language, just translate it into English.
Click on the translate button
and the paper should open again in English.
Did it work?
of course it did!
Tell me the title of one of the featured stories.
Briefly, what is the story about?
Have you ever used Google translate before?
Question #10 – International Newspapers
One more newspaper …
Below is a different country’s website address:
http://www.yucatan.com.mx
What country websites end in .mx?
Hint: just south of the US border
Question #11 – International Newspapers
In your own words, why would reading newspapers from other countries be important for research?
Question #12 – Local, small town paper.
Santa Cruz is a coastal town in California on the Monterey Bay.
Look for the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Scroll down a bit and find local news and events?
Tell me the title of a local news article (not the weather…).
Look for one more local news or opinion article …
What is the article title?
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