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GE103
Contemporary Writers
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Research Help
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Getting Started
Select a topic CQ Researcher | Opposing Viewpoints (on Reserve) | 10,000 Ideas for Term Paper Topics (on Reserve)

Find background information

Britannica Online | Encyclopedias (in Reference)
Find Books TomCat | eBooks/NetLibrary | WorldCat
Find Journal articles Expanded Academic ASAP | ProQuest | WilsonSelectPlus | Online Indexes (by subject)
Find Newspaper articles LexisNexis Academic | Michigan Newstand (in ProQuest)
Find Statistics Reference Books (via TomCat or ask a Librarian)
Find Web sites Best Information on the Net | Google | Web Search Engines
 
General Research Tips
  1. Work from the general to the specific. Find background information first, then use more specific and recent sources. (The Grace Hauenstein Library reference collection offers specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, and similar books to help you find background information.)
  2. Record what you find and where you found it. Write out a complete citation for each source you find; you may need it again later.
  3. Translate your topic into the subject language of the indexes and catalogs you use. Check your topic words against a thesaurus or subject heading list.
  4. Need help clarifying your topic? Need ideas about where to look next? Want to be sure you're using a reference source effectively? Ask for help at the reference desk!
Citation Styles
Information on the web also needs to be cited in your work in a way that allows others to go directly to the source themselves.
 
Grace Hauenstein Library Handouts (pdf)
MLA for Paper Sources APA for Electronic Sources
MLA for Full Text Article (from a library database) APA for Paper Sources
MLA for Electronic Sources  
 
Online Citation Help
Online Citation Builders
Beware - Errors in formatting may occur when using these tools. It is up to you to check the accuracy of your citations.
 
Distinguishing Scholarly v. Non-Scholarly Sources
Do you know what it means when a professor's assignment requires that you use a scholarly or professional journal for your information sources? In short, a scholarly journal provides articles of primary research in a specific field or discipline. This site lists some comparative criteria that will help you determine if the journal you are using meets your assignment's requirements. This comparison isn't about the accuracy of the popular magazines' information; it has to do with the level of scholarly information that is made available.
 
Evaluating Web Sites
Information on the web needs to be evaluated for accuracy, scholarship, and timeliness just like paper sources available in the library.