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Books are written or printed works produced by one or more authors. Individuals or committees with expertise in the field often edit books. Because they provide comprehensive information on their subject at the time of publication, books are very valuable in the research process. For many subject areas this is the best starting point for research. Many books contain valuable bibliographies at end of each chapter or at the close of the book. This provides an excellent entry point into the subject material as well to the authors publishing in a particular field of study.
| The Shape of Reason: Argumentative Writing in College | PE 1431 .G34 |
Citation Guides and Quick Tip Sheets
Citing information resources one uses in a paper or project is very important. It is vital that a student provide the resources where they found the information they paraphrase or the quotes they use in their work in the proper citation format. This can be in MLA, APA, or other formats that the course instructor requires.
The guides and links in this section will enable persons to properly use in body citations and create works cited or bibliography pages.
Accessing MyCompLab has all the citation help tools for students to use as well. This is a great set of tools for citation help and assistance when doing research papers and assignments.
Online information databases are large, regularly updated collections of digitized information -- including but not limited to abstracts and full text articles from journals and newspapers, conference proceedings and submitted papers, dissertations, government reports, essays, book chapters, web pages, etc. The content is created by publishers who release print versions, then lease the rights to their information to database vendors. Database records are easy to search and retrieve because the content of each record has been analyzed and assigned appropriate subject headings, keywords, names, etc. New records are regularly downloaded from the producer of each database.
In order to access these resources off-campus, you must first obtain the passwords.
A dictionary is any single or multi-volume work which briefly explains terms and topics related to a specific subject, usually arranged alphabetically. Dictionary entries are usually shorter than those found in an encyclopedia. Dictionaries assist with the understanding of terminology and concepts, suggest synonyms, related terms, and scientific names, and are useful resources to consult when formulating and refining your research strategy. Often illustrations and references to additional resources are included.
| American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language | REF PE 1628 .A623 |
| Beginner's Dictionary of American English Usage | REF PE 2827 .C65 |
| Bernstein's Reverse Dictionary | REF PE 1591 .B45 |
| Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases | REF PE 1591 .R7 |
| Thematic Dictionary of American Idioms | REF PE 2839 .S66 |
Encyclopedias are among the most widely used reference sources and contain articles of varying lengths covering all fields of knowledge. Typically encyclopedias cover many topics but without going into a great deal of depth on any one thing. Encyclopedias are a good starting point for researching topics that you do not know much about or that are completely new to you. They can give you background information which can help when you move to more in-depth sources later. Specialized encyclopedias may cover just one field or even a sub-unit of that field. Subject encyclopedias can be consulted for detailed or technical information on a subject.
Handbooks, manuals and guides are resources which supply concise factual and statistical information often in the form of charts, graphs, tables and formulas. These sources have very basic information, with little or no discussion or analysis of the facts they present. They cover a wide variety of topics, and as with other reference sources, these tools may be general or specific to a field, group of people, or era. These sources are frequently updated, which makes them valuable for locating current information. Try searching the online catalog using the keywords of your topic combined with one of the following keywords: handbook, manual or guide.
| New St. Martin's Handbook | PE 1112 .L86 |
| Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers | PE 1408 .R424 |
| Thinking and Writing: a Guide for College Students | PE 1408 .T395 |
Web sites are often a blend of information, entertainment and advertising, and this can make determining the credibility of a web site difficult. However, if you apply specific criteria and ask certain questions about any web site and the information it provides, you have a better chance of finding the best the web has to offer. It is necessary to critically evaluate information found on the web since almost anything can be put online.
The steps to take to evaluate Internet information can be valuable in determining if the information is of academic value. It's very important to learn to evaluate web resources before using them in an academic project; not all resources are reasonable for all purposes!