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English Composition: Find Sources
Welcome!
We hope you find this guide useful as you work through the research and writing process. Please contact any one of the Core Writing Librarians for help along the way. To schedule an appointment, visit the Ask a Librarian page.
Find Background Information
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Encyclopedia Britannica OnlineSearch the world-famous encyclopedia online for background information on a wide range of topics. Double-click on any word within an entry to view the definition.
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CQ ResearcherFind authoritative overviews of current controversial issues. Search by keyword or browse topics for issue summaries, timelines, pro and con arguments, and sources for further research.
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Points of View Reference CenterFind essays that present multiple sides of a current issue. Covers 250 topics, each with an overview (objective background/description), point (argument), counterpoint (opposing argument), and Critical Thinking Guide.
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ProCon.orgPresents the pros and cons for many controversial issues.
Find Articles
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Academic Search CompleteA great all-purpose database for finding sources, including scholarly articles, on a variety of topics from the social sciences to humanities to medicine and more.
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MasterFILE CompleteFind background information as well as scholarly and popular articles on a range of subjects from education to health to travel and more.
Find News
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U.S. NewsstreamSearch key national and regional U.S. news sources such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, and Reno Gazette-Journal spanning from the 1980s to present. Includes newspapers, magazines, blogs, trade journals, images, and audio/video content.
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Access World News Research CollectionFind information on a wide breadth of topics from a variety of news media including newspapers, newswires, periodicals, blogs, videos and web-only content including the Las Vegas Review Journal, Financial Times (London), San Francisco Chronicle, and USA Today.
Find Government Information
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U.S. Census BureauStatistics covering many different areas. Includes Decennial census data, the economic census data, and other sources.
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USA.govCurrently the best single portal to federal government information on the web.
Quick How-To: Find Sources
Need to learn how to find sources--fast? Check out the library's Quick How-Tos!
Online Tutorials
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Finding Sources TutorialLearn how to turn your topic into a research question, develop a search strategy, and use the library's online tools to locate sources.
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Evaluating Sources TutorialLearn why it's important to evaluate sources and how to use evaluation criteria to determine the credibility of a source.
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Basic MLA CitationLearn the basics of citation according to MLA 8th edition.
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Advanced MLA CitationLearn how to handle trickier citations in MLA 8th edition.
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MLA Works CitedLearn how to create a properly formatted Works Cited page in MLA style.