The Best Online Research Library is not an idle claim. No matter where you are located around the world, be it USA, Great Britain (sorry I can never bring myself to call my former home “UK”), Europe or Australia, if you are studying or simply wanting to access some fantastic books and articles online, Questia.com is for you.
The Beauty and Meaning of Words concerns itself with English words and the colourfulness, sound and feeling of words to enhance any written or spoken sentence. The definitions in the posts and in the Word List are purposely not the norm and are meant to provoke contemplative thought for the reader. Use them in your essays, in your research to add flavour to your work.
Questia’s library goes well beyond English Language and Literature with more than 83,000 academic books and more than 10 million newspaper, magazine and journal articles from more than a thousand of the world’s leading publishers, covering 14 major categories:
- Art and Architecture (257)
- Communication (473)
- Controversial Topics (146)
- Criminal Justice (447)
- Economics and Business (541)
- Education (450)
- History (2,956)
- Law (163)
- Literature (3,202)
- Music and Performing Arts (456)
- Philosophy (594)
- Politics and Government (730)
- Psychology (813)
- Religion (568)
- Science and Technology (854)
- Sociology and Anthropology (1,609)
There are also tutorials to help you write your research projects; different ways to research your particular topic; various ways to save either entire pieces or just selections which you wish to quote in your work, including a great text highlighting feature. Even bibliographies can be created easily for your work.
I was keen to undertake research on a favourite author of mine: Thomas Hardy. I was presented with 12,610 results in the forms of books, academic journals, periodicals, magazines, newspapers and encyclopaedia. I haven’t finished them yet!
Another search for The Inklings (JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis et al) produced 1,292 results; Nick Hornby (e.g. Fever Pitch; About A Boy) 1,755 results; even Donna Leon, who wrote novels of and in Venice, had 91 articles. Even my football team – Luton Town – brought up 3,898 results. There seems to be plenty of items for everyone.
Yes, there are other online research tools available – many for free – but Questia is undoubtedly a better option. Not only do you have access to all of these articles, you can easily create notes and bookmark pages for quick access and you are also able to gather and store your selections in appropriately named (by you) project files.
This, from a 2011 Study Guide Review: “Overall, Questia is an invaluable resource to help you find your resources quickly and easily. It won’t do much for someone who is struggling with a subject, but it will help you to develop and research any topic that you might be looking into. This product is an amazing tool for any student who hates spending hours cooped up in a dusty library pouring over tomes and cracking their jaws to stifle their yawns. 8.5/10“
Pricing: I purchased a discounted first year’s membership; this will automatically continue at the then applicable rate of, currently, $99.
There are three subscription levels for you to choose from, all of which provide unrestricted access to all tools and content on Questia:
- Monthly at $19.95 per month
- Semester at $49.95 every three months
- Annual at $99 every twelve months
Several years ago, there were a number of disgruntled people that complained about the renewal policy of Questia, in that when the trial period was complete they were charged, automatically, full price for the continuation of the membership. They argued that this was unjust, yet Questia state quite clearly – perhaps improving their process as a result of that criticism – that automatic renewal will take place unless cancellation occurs beforehand. Fair enough!
Times have changed since then. Join now by clicking here or on the banner below.