Emerson College Library: WR121: Research Writing: Proposal/Advocacy

What are some real needs in my community?

Use local and government infromation to identify pressing needs in your area.

American FactFinder
Get a"Fact Sheet" for your community and find population, housing, economic, and geographic information.
Analyze Boston
Research portal for Boston municipal data. Includes crime reports, building permits, service requests, inspections, wifi hotspots, and much more.
Idealist.org
Idealist is an interactive site where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas, locate opportunities and supporters, and take steps toward building a world where all people can lead free and dignified lives.
Volunteer.gov
Find volunteer opportunities in your community or reach out by posting a volunteer opportunity of your own.
Volunteering Solutions
Volunteer Solutions helps volunteers, nonprofit agencies, corporations, event organizers, and Volunteer Centers get connected.

Are there books on proposal writing?

How to write proposals that produce
Call Number: HF5718.5 .B69 1992
Writing proposals : rhetoric for managing change
Call Number: HF5718.5 .J64 2001
Handbook for writing proposals
Call Number: HF5718.5 .H2844 1995

Search the FLO Library Catalog to find books and audio visual materials.

Proposal planning and writing
Call Number: HG177.5.U6 M56 1998

Where can I get background information on the issue??

Background information can help you contextualize your topic, adopt appropriate vocabulary and terminology, and support, refute, or define your assumptions.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Collection of virtual encyclopedias with over 3 million entries from 300+ reference books in a variety of subjects.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Weekly reports on topics of current interest, with pro and con arguments. Limited to 5 users at a time.
Issues and Controversies This link opens in a new window
Current in-depth information on the most prominent and hotly debated issues of the day.

What articles have been written about my topic?

To find magazine, newspaper, and scholarly articles on your topic, consult the following databases. Remember to:

Connect words with"and," "or," and "not"
Use "quotation marks" to orcing phrases
Use the * to truncate keywords (ex. librar* = libraries, librarians)

Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
Full text coverage of social sciences, humanities, business, general science, and education.

Google News
Search and browse 25,000 news sources updated continuously.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. Remember to set your scholar preferences to Emerson College to get full text of articles through many of Emerson's database subscriptions

JSTOR & ArtStor This link opens in a new window
Complete full-text runs of 10,000+ top scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Also includes ebooks and primary source documents. For expanded JSTOR access, register for a free eCard through Boston Public Library. For help, see the JSTOR users' guides.
Nexis Uni (previously Lexis Nexis Academic) This link opens in a new window
Newspaper articles, wire services, legal, broadcast, and business news. Includes Company Info Search with financials (for publically traded companies), executives, current company news, SEC filings, mergers and acquisitions. Complementary with Proquest News database.
Project MUSE, Arts and Humanities Collection This link opens in a new window
Full text of over 100 journals in classics, culture, education, film, performing arts, history, literature, religion, and theater.