Be persistent in your searching.
Try both keyword and subject searching
Narrow a search by using subject headings. Locate subject headings by looking at the descriptors associated with pertinent articles and books.
Try these tips to narrow your search.
Try synonyms (AIDS or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). Can't think of any synonyms? Try an online thesaurus. Try these tips to expand your search
Try both singular and plural forms of words (use a "+" sign in SocSciAbs to search both singular and plurals e.g. religion+). Use an "*" in Academic Search Premier to get a variety of word endings.
If searching a compound word, try it as one word and as two words (e.g. rain forest or rainforest) to see which retrieves the most useful results.
If searching a term with an internal dash, search the term in each database with and without the internal dash (e.g. x-ray vs. x ray) to see which retrieves the most useful results.
The databases on this page will be most useful for your argumentative paper later in the semester. For articles related to pros and cons of controversial issues, I recommend CQ Researcher, in particular.
If you are trying to search for articles related to the engineering profession, I might recommend starting in Academic Search Ultimate and limiting your search to Interviews for Publication Type. Here is a link to a sample article that might provide some insight into the profession.