ENGL C1000 (Underwood)

Library databases provide credible full text information with no additional costs. 

• Quality Information: Resources are vetted by professionals.
• Better Search Filters: Ability to filter by subject, publication type, and date. 
• Free, Full-Text Articles: Access to complete articles through SURF ID and password.
• Citation Tools: Ready-to-use citations in a variety of styles (e.g. MLA, APA, Chicago)

Background information is an important step to learn about your topic, and it can be found in reference sources like dictionaries and encyclopedias. These sources provide:

• General information for context on your topic
• Understanding of key concepts, terminology, and major issues
• Insight into important researchers, theories, and debates in the field

Use the words you find in background sources to get ideas for future keywords!

Get better results by breaking your research topic into keywords and using related terms.

Example Topic: Impact of Algorithmic Bias on Social Media feeds

1. Identify Key Concepts
   • Algorithmic Bias: Algorithm, Bias, Filter Bubble, discrimination
   • Social media: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
2. Mix and match these terms when searching in a database

Phrase Searching uses quotation marks to search for sources where words appear side-by-side in the exact order.

Use Phrase Searching when searching for specific concepts, technical terms, proper names, or common phrases.

• Example: "algorithmic bias" finds articles with these words together
• Example: "Safiya Noble" (researcher who studies algorithmic bias)
• Result: More focused, relevant sources with fewer irrelevant matches

Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) combine keywords for better results.

• AND narrows your search by combining different ideas.
    Example: "algorithmic bias" AND "social media"
• OR expands your search by including synonyms or related terms.
    Example: Facebook OR Instagram OR YouTube
• NOT excludes unwanted terms from your results.
    Example: "social media" NOT advertising

Scholarly sources (academic or peer-reviewed journals) are in-depth, original research in a specific field written by expert researchers.

• Characteristics: Written by experts, technical language, lengthy references
• Publication Timeline: Takes longer to publish due to the peer review process, which adds credibility by requiring expert evaluation before publication

Knowing the difference between source types can help you choose the right evidence for your assignment.

Popular sources (magazines and newspapers) are intended for a general audience.

• Characteristics: Written by journalists, easy to read, no formal citations
• Publication Timeline: Published quickly and often: daily, weekly, or monthly

Popular sources can provide more up-to-date information that is easier to read.

Plagiarism is using someone else's ideas, words, or work without giving proper credit.

• Common types: Copying text, paraphrasing without citing, using someone's ideas
• Prevention: Always cite your sources and use quotation marks for direct quotes
• When in doubt: Cite the source - it's better to over-cite than under-cite

Remember: Even unintentional plagiarism has serious academic consequences.

MLA citations give credit to the sources you use in your research.

MLA (Modern Language Association) citations consist of two components:

• In-text citations within your paper include the author’s last name and page number
• Works Cited list at the end with full citation details for each source used

Lateral reading is a key fact-checking skill to evaluate information.

To evaluate for authority, accuracy, and bias, readers investigate the source using outside sources (e.g. another website). 

1. Search for the name of an unfamiliar source in a new browser tab 
2. Check trustworthy sites to learn more about the source