Sources

1. Sources …for academic research Click for next slide

2. Old Habits… When you need to look something up quickly, what do you usually do? Click for next slide

3. If you are like most people, your first thought is Click for next slide

4. Old habits… Many students do “research” by using a general search engine such as Google or Yahoo. I hope I find something useful! Click for next slide

5. Old habits… However, this type of search is a habit that does not work wellwhen doing college research. No Google?? What else is there? Click for next slide

6. What’s wrong with using ? or Click for next slide

7. Why not Google or Yahoo? No selection process: • Documents do not undergo any selection process but rather are placed randomly. Click for next slide

8. Why not Google or Yahoo? No standards: • Random organization. • Often, commercial sites or sites soliciting donations dominate search results. Click for next slide

9. Why not Google or Yahoo? No validation: • No one reviews sites for accuracy. • The internet is filled with hoaxes, scams, parodies, and hate speechdisguised as “fact.” Click for next slide

10. Besides Google, what else should college students avoid? Click for next slide

11. Avoid Relying upon Wikipedia Click for next slide

12. Wikipedia To be fair, Wikipedia is good for personal research or to find quick information about something. However, Wikipedia is not good for academic research or for citing in research papers. Click for next slide

13. Q: If you wanted to learn about Old Dominion University, which would provide the most complete, accurate information? Visiting the ODU website yourself and reading the information directly from ODU. Reading about ODU on Wikipedia Click for next slide

14. Use Original Sources The original sourceis always better than Wikipedia for academic writing. Click for next slide

15. The information in Wikipedia is largely copied and pasted from other sources. Why settle for a copy of a source when you can use the original source? Click for next slide

16. Wikipedia Anyone can contribute to or edit Wikipedia. Sometimes, the information may be inaccurate or incomplete. Someone tried a bit too hard! Click for next slide

17. Which sounds better? “I found my information in the New England Journal of Medicine.” “I found my information on Wikipedia.” or Click for next slide

18. Original is always better! Click for next slide

19. However, Wikipedia can help you find good, original sources! Scroll down to the “Notes and References” section You can begin with Wikipedia, but always move to original sources. Click for next slide

20. Wikipedia Wikipedia can be a great place to start, but always use original sources in your writing. Click for next slide

21. Wikipedia Wikipedia should not appear in your Works Cited or anywhere else in your essays. Use original sources! Click for next slide

22. Where can college students find reliable, scholarly sources? Click for next slide

23. Some Good News: Your tuition dollars pay for access to huge databases filled with accurate, scholarly sources. Click for next slide

24. Even Better News: All of these wonderful sources are right at your fingertips, accessible from your home PC! Click for next slide

25. Sources It is important to know how to use the TCC Databases for academic research. Therefore, ALLsources for the final essay must come from the TCC Databases. No other sources will be accepted. Click for next slide

26. For detailed information about how to find sources, please view the lecture notes on the Annotated Bibliography. Click for next slide

27. Sources The purpose of the SASE assignment is to practice using the TCC Library databases. 3 sources are required. Each source = 10 points. • *Missing one source = minus 10 points. • **Missing 2 sources = minus 20 points. • ***Missing 3 sources = minus 30 points. TCC database sources ONLY—no other sources allowed. Click for next slide

28. Final Notes… Your Handbook (Chapter 36) contains MLA style documentation. You may also explore the TCC-Library website for MLA help: http://www.tcc.edu/lrc/guides/research.htm Click for next slide

29. Final Notes… Free, friendly, & candid advice: Want to impress your future professors? Mention enthusiastically how you have so many ideas and sources from your research that you’re trying to decide which angle to take on the topic. Click for next slide

30. Final Notes… Free, friendly, & candid advice: Want to irritate your future professors? Complain that you cannot find any sources on your topic, despite the huge databases of articles available via TCC (and most college libraries). Click for next slide

31. Review When writing academic research essays… • Avoid general searches such as Google or Yahoo. • Do not use Wikipedia as a source. • Use database articles from the TCC Library online Click for next slide

32. End of Presentation