Speech 101 - V. Arnold
July 7, 2008

• Rio Hondo College Library Web site - best place to start research
  
  See Library Web Site Virtual Tour
   

  • Use our catalog to find books  - the best place to get overviews, background information, and in-depth treatments of your topic.
    
    Series searches for Opposing Viewpoints, At Issue, Current Controversies
    
    Title searches for Taking Sides, Debatabase
    
    
    Individual topics:
    Adopted children
    Adoption
    Child abuse
    Stem cells
    Gay couples
    interracial adoption
    Interracial marriages
    Same-sex marriage
    Spouse abuse
    
    Notes about WebCat:
    
    The most recent books are listed first. Click on the brief citation to see full record for
    each book.
    
    Library Reserves
    in WebCat Click on Reserve desk
    Enter eng 101 as your search term and click on Course Number.
     

  • Use our online databases to find articles [off-campus access click here]
     

    • How to find articles in online databases -  the best places to get specific information about events or topics; can range from short and very localized reporting to substantial analyses and commentaries. Can be very current or retrospective.  
       

      1. SIRS
         Now offers “Research Guides” on selected topics. Good value but some sources can be a bit dated. Also look at the individual results that come up from your search.
          

      2. Issues & Controversies from FACTS.com
          

      3. CQ Researcher (on-campus use only)
          

      4. ProQuest 
         
         For articles in the form of commentaries, opinions, editorials, do an Advanced Search.

         a.       Fill out your topic word(s) next to the “Citation and Abstract” window.

         b.       Select “Document Type” and a drop-down window will appear -> click on “Commentary” or on “Editorial.”

         c.       Click on “Search.”

         For ongoing or long-term events, use focused search terms or specify a date range
          

      5. Gale Virtual Reference Library e-Books **

     

• How to research controversial topics and choose a topic:
  http://www.shabelnikdesign.com/controversial/researhchoose.html
  
   

• How to find authoritative web sites:
   

  Use a subject directory that provides human-selected web sites
  
  Rio Hondo College Library Subject Guides (individually created and researched by Rio librarians) to help you get started on a number of typical research topics.
  
  Web directories
  http://www.whittier.edu/tatiana/internettutorial/directories.htm
  Librarians Index to the Internet
  
  Selected individual Web sites:

• Public Agenda Online
• Controversial Topics - from Santa Ana College Library
• Editorials/Opinion pages from U.S. newspapers

          Search Engines
http://www.whittier.edu/tatiana/internettutorial/searchengines.htm
Tips:
- Follow up web sites that are cited in scholarly journal articles
- In order to obtain better quality web sites on your topic, perform an Advanced Search on your search engine of choice.  Hint:  Specify the domain from which you want your results to come. For example, for topics marked with * (see chart), try this in Google:

• HPV vaccine site:gov

• HPV vaccine site:edu
   

• Strategies for evaluating web sites

  • See Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools from Cornell University Library

  • Evaluating Web Sites (Rio Hondo College)
     

• What about Wikipedia?

  • Criticisms:

    • entries can be written by random people or fanatics who love their subjects and may not always be accurate or balanced;

    • anyone can edit and change entries at any time;

    • some entries may not be backed up by authoritative citations;

    • different versions of a page make it difficult to track for citation purposes.

  • Kudos:

    • democratic (you don’t have to have a PhD to write ‘authoritatively’ on your special subject or niche topic);

    • strives for an NPOV (neutral point of view);

    • self-regulating (vandalism is dealt with swiftly);

    • can provide useful Bibliographies on topics (may be selective).

   

JSevilla-Marzona 02/07

Adapted by JCoe 09/07

Adapted by Tania Shabelnik 01/06