Class Page : WR 121, PCC Cascade, Spring Term 2009

Instructor: Jan Martin
Librarian: Torie Scott
Term: Spring, 2009

This page was created for a specific class. Visit Research to see all library-created subject guides and research tools.

Assignment

Write a research essay on a current and controversial topic, using at least 10 sources of information. At least five of these sources must be articles from peer reviewed publications. The essay should be about 10 pages long, in MLA style.

Ideas for topics

Several PCC Library databases suggest controversial topics.

Access Science [database] An online version of McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology. In addition to 8,000+ articles there are biographies, research updates, and science news. TIP: Check out the Study Center tab at the top of the page.

CQ Researcher [database] Topical, full text reports on controversial issues. Each report features a summary, chronology, and bibliography. Updated weekly.

Opposing Viewpoints [database] A one-stop source for information on current social issues. Includes viewpoint articles on both sides of an issue, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

Background Information

You probably won't cite sources like encyclopedias, wikipedia or some web sites, but they can provide valuable background information on your topic.

Gale Virtual Reference Library [database] GVRL is a database of 27 encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. Look here for biology, chemistry, nursing and medicine, sociology, history, education, law, and more.

Google Advanced search TIPS: use quotation marks around phrases; put a + sign in front of required words; limit by domain, ex. org or gov. Check out the Google Advanced help page.

wikipedia Why fight it? wikipedia is a great place to begin your research. Be sure to check out the References and External Links at the bottom of the page. Did the authors use credible sources? Check their work, and use their research to help you with yours.

World Book Online Reference Center [database] The World Book Encyclopedia along with related newspaper and magazine articles, multimedia, special reports, a dictionary, and links to selected web sites. Includes a Spanish language encyclopedia.

Article databases, including articles from peer-reviewed journals

Academic Search Premier [database] EBSCOhost. Full text for more than 4,500 scholarly social sciences, humanities, general science, education and multi-cultural journals. 3,700+ are peer-reviewed.

Biology Journals [database] Full text articles from 280 biology journals, many of them peer-reviewed.

EBSCOhost [database] Search from a wide range of research databases for magazine and journal articles. TIP: limit your search to peer reviewed and full text..

Google Scholar. Use Google to find peer reviewed articles. On campus, get the full text of any article included in PCC's databases. TIP: for full text, look for the link "Full-Text @ PCC".

JSTOR [database] (Advanced Search) Full text of about 600 scholarly journals in the arts and sciences, from their earliest issues up to 3-5 years ago. TIP: scroll down and limit your search by discipline.

Cite your sources.

Most databases will create a citation to an article for you, in MLA format. Be sure to check the citation, however. They are usually not quite perfect (but better than typing the whole thing yourself).

Modern Language Association (MLA) online citation guides

MLA Documentation [website] From the Everyday Writer 3rd ed..

MLA Formatting and Style Guide [website] A comprehensive resource from Purdue University. Includes concrete examples and a good overview of MLA style.

MLA:Objectives [website] From the University of North Carolina Libraries. See the 'detail' section of individual citations for a great visual aid to understanding MLA.

EasyBib [website] A free automatic biblography composer.

A note on citation...

Why cite your sources?

The most obvious reason is that by showing where you got your quotes, ideas and images you avoid plagiarizing

Also, scholarly writing is about engaging in a conversation with the researchers who came before you as well as those who may come after. Let your readers know where you got your information, so they know more about the conversation.

People take your writing more seriously. Amongst scholars citations are a sign of authority.

Related:
Class Pages, Composition, Subject Guides A to Z