Tips for Finding Sources on Texas & Local

It can be hard to make Texas, or a Texas county or a Texas city focus work for your assignment.

Here's why

There aren't as many articles written about state or local topics, and you are unlikely to find scholarly articles unless they are historical. In some rare cases where the topic is specific to Texas, or a Texas county or city, and it is of national or world interest there might be scholarly articles.

When a Texas Focus Might Work

1. When your assignment is on a current topic and does not require scholarly or peer reviewed articles
   OR
2. When your assignment is on a historical topic
   OR
3. When your instructor requires it (of course!)

Add A Texas Focus

If you really want to include a Texas or local angle in your paper on a current topic, you could discuss the issue in your paper on both a national and more local level.

You'll just need to make sure that you get sources that support both parts of your discussion. This would be especially meaningful if Texas differs in some way to the national or world situation, such as with the death penalty. 

Don't Forget!

Whatever you choose to do on your paper, it has to fit the assignment your instructor gave you. If you're not sure, ask!

ProQuest and Academic OneFile have the most articles on Texas History, including scholarly articles. 

OneSearch will search for all the books that we have on Texas and local topics, as well as other sources.

Most current articles available that focus on Texas, or a Texas county or city, are going to come from news sources.

Use COM Library's databases to get the college level articles you need for your research faster.

Infotrac Newsstand and Texas News & Culture are the best databases for Texas news. They both have the full text of some Texas newspapers and magazines.