WR 222 with Liz Smith: Explore professional information
Explore a major, career and professional association
- What can I do with a degree in...?Explore jobs and professional associations for careers in a given major (PSU)
Try a Google search to find professional associations related to a job or field of study. Search tips:
- site:org limits to nonprofits
- useful search words to try: professional association, Oregon, careers
- add the job or career name to the search, such as: nursing
Browse the website of a professional association to identify examples of:
- current topics or issues of interest
- professional writing
- advocacy for policy or legislative changes
- professional activities like conferences -- look to the keynote speaker for leaders in the field
- thought leaders -- you might also try a TED talk to identify a mover/shaker in your field!
Pro TIP! Visit the department page for field of study you intend to pursue at colleges in Oregon.
- What faculty are doing research of interest to you?
- What are the latest topics or issues or problems that are being researched?
News on research
- EurekAlert!Science news aggregator.
- Google Newsadd the word "research" to a topic search
- New York Times: research sectionBrowse current reports on research discoveries.
- Science DailyScience news aggregator.
Find Books, Articles, DVDs, and more
Explore a journal in your field of study
- Subject Research GuidesBrowse the recommended journals listed on the guide for your field of study. Note the key databases for research.
Search the PCC Library on a broad topic or field of study and limit the results to Journals under Format.
- Google Scholar This link opens in a new windowSearch on a topic of interest in Google Scholar and notice which journals you see frequently. Find the Journal in the PCC Library and browse the more recent issue to identify current "conversations" in the field.
Google Scholar searches the web for scholarly articles, reports, books, and other materials. If using Google Scholar from a PCC campus, you can access full text articles. If PCC has access to an article, a "Find it @ PCC" link will appear to the right of the search result. Click “Find it @ PCC” to go to the library catalog where you will be offered a choice to view the article. From home, you will need to set your Google Scholar preferences to access PCC Library resources. See Using Google Scholar for directions on how to set your Google Scholar preferences at home.
Where is that Scholarly Conversation?
Finding the scholarly conversation can be difficult to follow. The following tools will help you track your topic in academic journals:
- AuthorMapper is a tool by the publisher Springer that tracks who (author) and where (location) scholarly articles are being published.
- CiteULike is a social network for citations. As a registered user you can save and tag the scholarly articles you have used in your library. If someone else tags or saves the same article you are able to see what else might be relevant in their library; allowing you to expand your