The table below summarizes common research sources and provides information about where they can be found.
| Research source | Where to find this resource |
| Books | Print books can be found in catalogUSMAI, which lists the holdings of the libraries that make up the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions.
Online books (also known as e-books) can be found in many UMGC Library databases; see What is in the UMGC E-Book Collection? and What additional e-book collections are available? |
| Scholarly journal articles | Online articles from scholarly journals can be found in most of the UMGC Library's 100+ databases. Some articles from open-access scholarly journals are available on the free web, but the vast majority of articles from scholarly journals can only be found in subscription databases. OneSearch, which searches many of the Library's databases simultaneously, is a good starting point for finding scholarly journal articles; note that there's an option to restrict results to articles from scholarly journals. Many other UMGC Library databases offer a similar limiter. |
| Trade publication articles | Online articles from trade publications can be found in many UMGC Library databases. Some trade publication articles can be found on trade associations' websites, but online access is frequently restricted to subscribers and/or trade association members. OneSearch, which searches many of the Library's databases simultaneously, can be used to find articles from trade publications; the Trade Publications limiter can be selected from the left-hand side of the OneSearch results page. |
| Consumer magazine articles | Online articles from consumer magazines can be found in several UMGC Library databases. Some magazine articles can be found on magazines' websites, but online access is frequently restricted to subscribers.
OneSearch, which searches many of the Library's databases simultaneously, is a good starting point for finding articles from popular consumer magazines; the Magazines limiter can be selected from the left-hand side of the OneSearch results page. |
| Newspaper articles | Online newspaper articles can be found in several of the UMGC Library's databases, such as News & Newspapers (ProQuest) and Nexis Uni. Some newspaper articles can be found on newspapers' websites, but online access is increasingly being restricted to subscribers. |
| Conference proceedings | Some conference proceedings may be published in print or online books or journals. Some conference proceedings can be found on the websites of the conference sponsors, but online access may be restricted to conference attendees. Online conference proceedings can be found in some of the UMGC Library's databases, such as PapersFirst and ProceedingsFirst. |
| Dissertations and theses | Online dissertations and theses can be found in the UMGC Library's Dissertations & Theses Global database. Open-access dissertations and theses can be found at PQDT Open. |
| Government publications | Online government publications can be found in some of the UMGC Library's research databases, such as Military & Government Collection. The main clearinghouse for official U.S. government publications is govinfo, which replaced FDsys, the GPO's Federal Digital System, in December 2018. |
| Non-governmental organization (NGO) reports | Online NGO reports can often be found on NGO websites. |
| Corporate reports | Online corporate reports can be found in some of the UMGC Library's business databases (e.g., ABI/INFORM Complete), as well as on corporate websites. |
If you have any questions about this information, please use the UMGC Library's Ask a Librarian service to receive assistance.