Discovery tools are great at revealing the variety of sources available to researchers. This one-shot lesson plan makes use of discovery platform facets and features to show students the range of content available. Students will also explore and evaluate how the available information sources differ from each other. The lesson may be more appropriate for upper-level students who have database experience and a basic understanding of what research looks like within their disciplines.

After a brief overview of library resources in the context of Communication Studies (with an emphasis on different kinds of sources: blogs, books, multimedia), this document can be used to 1. Understand different database features 2. Finding specific kind of resources: scholarly, secondary, trade publications 3. Become comfortable translating selected resources into APA citations