In addition to academic or scholarly content, you may be asked to supplement your research with popular writing, like newspapers. Newspapers are primary sources that reflect on a specific event. You can use Omni to search for contemporary and historical newspapers. Here's how.
Step 1
Visit Omni at https://brocku.ca/library.
Step 2
In the search box, search for your topic using key concepts. Remember, use the OR operator to link synonyms together (policy OR law); use the AND operator to link different concepts together (policy AND indigenous); and, use quotation marks (" ") to search for specific phrases (policy AND "indigenous communities"). In general, your search string for newspaper articles should be less narrow or specific (consider the type of language used in newspaper articles in contrast to academic articles).
Step 3
Review your results. Use the filters on the left-hand side of the screen to narrow your results to NEWSPAPER SEARCH.
Use the filters on the left hand side to filter by online availability, publication title, and publication date.
Step 4
You can always edit your search phrase to include additional key concepts. Remember that the research process is iterative—this means you'll often have to revise your search multiple times. That's totally normal.
Step 5
Once you've found a newspaper article that looks promising, click on the title and you'll be presented with a lot of information. If the newspaper article is available online, simply click on one of the available links to view the article.
Not all newspapers are available electronically. You may have to visit the library to locate a physical issue of a newspaper, or to review scanned images on microfilm. If you're ever in any doubt, contact a librarian and we can help.
