Research Assignments (ENG 100 - Rohde)
About This Guide
Use this guide for help with your "I" Search Essay Topic Selection and Early Research Assignment (mini annotated bibliography) as well as your Gaps in Reading and Research Assignment. It links to quality library sources and ways to get in touch with your online Librarian Stephanie E. Villamor.
- CSN Libraries WebsiteYour number one stop for research help at CSN!
- Research 101 TutorialA step by step guide that walks you through the entire research process from choosing a topic to citing your sources.
Topic Selection
- Choose a Topic TutorialThis tutorial can help you get ideas for how to brainstorm an essay topic.
- Gale Virtual Reference LibraryThis is a collection of online encyclopedias that inform your readers about a general topic. It may be good for researching a specific career or pop culture topic. It's also where you would find a REFERENCE source.
- Issues & ControversiesA great place to find topic ideas of hotly debated issues of today. You may be able to find a COUNTER-ARGUMENT here too.
More Research
- Opposing Viewpoints in ContextPro and con information on a variety of contemporary social issues along with articles from magazines, journals, newspapers and other sources. You may be able to find a COUNTER-ARGUMENT here too.
- ProQuest Career and Technical EducationContains detailed career information.
- ProQuest CentralA collection of magazine, journal and newspaper articles for research. To find SCHOLARLY articles, check the "peer reviewed" box below the search bar.
- EBSCO CompleteSearch more than 20 subject collections for a variety of sources. To find SCHOLARLY articles, check the box under Limit Your Results that says "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals".
- Kanopy FilmsDocumentary and educational films covering a wide variety of subjects.
Definitions
Primary source: A primary source is an original source or first-hand account written or created at the time the source is being talked about. For example, a speech, letter, or newspaper article about a historical event that took place during that event, would be a primary source. An original research or scientific study to learn about how something works would be a primary source.
Secondary source: A secondary source takes place after an original event or comments on a primary source. For example, a newspaper article about the aftermath of a historical event 50 years later would be a secondary source. An essay commenting on a famous book published in the past would be a secondary source. A research study that analyzes other prior research studies would be a secondary source.
Scholarly: These are sources written by scholars who are experts in the field. A magazine or newspaper article is typically written by journalists who are not experts in every subject they write about. An academic journal article is written by a scholar who has studied their subject and may have advanced degrees in that area. Find scholarly sources in ProQuest and EBSCO by limiting your results to "peer reviewed" (which means it was reviewed by other scholar peers after being written by the scholar).
Reference source: These are encyclopedias, dictionaries, and almanacs. Reference sources provide basic, background information. Try an online encyclopedia collection such as Gale Virtual Reference Library.
Counter-argument or alternative view source: These are sources that offer a different viewpoint from the one you are arguing. Or if your paper doesn't make an argument, it might just be a source that provides a perspective different from your own. Try Opposing Viewpoints, or select an article from any database that talks about your topic in a different way.
