Information Security and Intelligence

No clue where to start searching for good information, like peer-reviewed journal articles? SmartSearch searches across several library databases and can be a great starting point to find new topics and search terms to use in more specific databases. SmartSearch also contains many peer-reviewed open access (like open source) articles from sources not available in other databases.

After entering a search query, use the pin icon in the upper right hand corner next to each resource's title to save it to your Favorites list. Then you can email, print, or create citations for your entire Favorites list all at once. You can also add citations to reference manager programs like Mendeley or Zotero using the export functions.

Statista is a vendor that specializes in data gathering and visualization. In addition to publicly available third-party data, Statista also provides exclusive data via its platform, which is collected through its team's surveys and analysis. Their reports and surveys often appear in online search results, and if you try to access them without going through the library's link, you'll see that they cost hundreds of dollars! 

Ready to search? We recommend starting in the topic overview section. It can be a little hard to find from the landing page, so here is a direct link. You can also add /topics to the end of Statista's URL.

Topic overviews include relevant reports and statistics collated into sections. Reports are based on statistics, but they also include expert analysis and interpretation. So, save yourself from plowing through a big list of search results by starting with either topics or reports. (Reports has its own drop-down menu.) Everything is downloadable in a variety of formats, including Powerpoint, and visualizations can be adjusted using the Settings gear icon. There's loads more great features to discover, but that should get you started. 

Can't think of a topic for your paper? Enjoy infographics? Check out the Daily Data section and scroll through hundreds of pages of charts and graphs on all sorts of topics. I'm sure one will spark your interest. 

Once you've found citations relevant to the topic you're working with and you need to get a copy of the articles, you'll need to verify whether FLITE owns the particular journal in which each article was published. Many databases now have a link called "Ferris Full Text", which gives you the range of options available to find the material. If the full text of the article is available, you will be able to find the article by clicking on the button or link.

Sometimes the Ferris Full Text button will provide a link to SmartSearch. This indicates that the journal is found in FLITE's print collection. If you are off-campus and can't come to FLITE, simply order the article through Interlibrary Loan and mention you are an off-campus student in the Notes field.

If the Ferris Full Text link only shows the ILL option, then you will need to request it through your ILL account. When you order an article through ILL, it will always be scanned and available as a PDF. When the article is available, you'll get a notification that includes a link to access the article. These links do expire eventually from your account so be sure to save a copy to your computer.

See FLITE ILL page: https://ferris.libguides.com/ILLiad