| University Libraries
This page will help you find resources for your assignments throughout the entire course.
These sources are great for finding current information in computer science and IT fields.
Schedule an appointment with a Computing Librarian to get started or at any time in the research process.
Get help with:
Artificial intelligence is everywhere - in news, apps, and daily life. This can make research both exciting and overwhelming!
To help make your research topic specific, add a population, product, or specific concern.
Example Topic Progression:
It's exciting to do an AI topic you saw in the news or social media! But you'll want to think strategically about if the information to support your paper is available in the format you can use.
For example, if you see a data breech in the news, it could be some months before all the information is available to discuss, such as how it happened, who is responsible, and if there are any lawsuits pending.
Different sources have different publication timelines:| Source Type | Typical Time Frame |
|---|---|
| Social Media | Hours after event |
| Newspapers | 24-72 hours |
| Trade Magazines | 1-6 months |
| Scholarly Sources (Peer-reviewed or academic journals) | 12-18 months |
Pro Tip: Technology topic sources become outdated within 2 years unless discussing historical context like policies or product development.
Keywords play a big part in finding information quickly and strategically so make a list before you begin. Here are some popular keywords and subject terms for doing research in library databases. There are some sample multidisciplinary databases below that students have successfully used in this course for a variety of AI topics in addition to IT and computer science databases.
Recommended Keyword Combinations:
This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new windowJSTOR is a collection of core scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences digitized in most cases back to the first date of issue. Includes selected books, primary sources and other materials for academic work.
The following sources are not Mason Libraries database resources. However, you might have access to some of their materials with your Mason ID and password. You can also find additional professional organizations using search engines like Google.
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