English Research Assignment Guide
When evaluating sources, always remember your ABCDs!
- A - Who is the author and why should you trust them?
- B - Is there a bias? Do they take one side or the other?
- C - Look at the content. Are there grammatical errors? Is the information complete?
- D - What date was it published? When was the website last updated?
Gale Reference Collection - 9-12
- Go to onlinelibrary.uen.org (Ask a librarian for the at-home login).
- Click on Gale Reference Collection - Grades 9-12.
- The database you want to use depends on your topic:
- Biography In Context - Focuses on famous individuals
- Global Issues In Context - Organizes information based on social issues, particularly those on a worldwide scale
- Opposing Viewpoints In Context - Organizes information based on social issues with a Pro / Con standpoint
- Science In Context - Focuses on scientific information (news, studies, summaries)
- Student Resources In Context - General research database that covers a variety of topics (history, literature, biography, science, etc.)
- Use the search bar and specific keywords as you search.
- Search results are organized by type of source: Reference, Biography, News, Magazines, Images, Audio, Academic Journals, Essays, etc.
- TO CITE: Scroll down to the bottom of the article to copy/paste citation.
EBSCO
- Go to onlinelibrary.uen.org (Ask a librarian for the at-home login).
- Click on EBSCO.
- Click on "All Databases," then "Academic Search Premier."
- Under "Limit Your Results," click on "Full Text."
- Click on an article to find the Abstract and read what the article is about.
- On the left-hand side, click on PDF Full Text to read the article.
- TO CITE: Click on the link "Cite" at the right hand side of the record page.
OR - Instead of doing "All Databases," you can also scroll down to find a specific one. Possible databases include:
- Literary Reference Center
- Science Reference Center
- History Reference Center
- Points of View - Presents a Pro / Con perspective to various issues.
- Click on an article to find the Abstract and read what the article is about.
- On the left-hand side, click on PDF Full Text to read the article.
- TO CITE: Click on the link "Cite" at the right hand side of the record page.
Searching With Google
When searching on the internet, remember that the first few results may not be the right sources for you. To find authoritative sources, look for ones that end in .edu and .org. But even these may not be right, so use your brain!
- Search using specific keywords.
- Click on the button at the top-right that looks like a wheel (like the image on your right)
- Click on Advanced Search
- In "Site or Domain," type in .edu or .org. This will pull results from only .edu or .org sites.
- TO CITE: Click on this link for details on creating MLA citations.