English Composition (GE 180)

An encyclopedia article is the perfect starting place for an overview of your topic.

• The DI Library has an Encyclopedia Britannica, as well as specialized encyclopedias.
• The San Diego Public Library provides access to the Gale Virtual Reference Library from any computer with a SDPL Library card. Cards are free to anyone residing in California, and you can sign up online.
• The San Diego County Library provides access to through World Book Advanced. Cards are free for California residents and military and are a one-time fee of $5 for non-California residents.
   

Books are a source of in-depth information and high-quality images. Books can be popular or scholarly.

• The library catalog can be accessed from anywhere at disd.kohalibrary.com.
• Find a book that looks perfect? Use it to find more books:
  • Click Related Subjects to find more books with the same subjects.
  • Look for new search terms in the contents and summary.
  • Books are organized by subject. Click Browse Shelf to see what books are nearby on the shelf

These can be popular (magazines) or scholarly (journals). Articles can be more current than books.
Find articles on OmniFile by going to www.disd.edu/library and clicking on the link on the right

These are sources of the most current and local information. Newspapers are not scholarly sources.

• With a San Diego Public Library card, you can access Gale Newsstand, a newspaper database; the online edition of The New York Times; a database of the New York Times from 1851-2014; a database of the Los Angeles Times from 1985- present; and General OneFile, which has newspaper and periodical articles.
• With a San Diego County Library card, you can access the online edition of The New York Times, as well as General OneFile, which includes articles from newspapers, reference books, and periodicals

Including a bibliography is one way a source signals its reliability. Sources most likely to include bibliographies are books, academic journals, and some internet sources.

The Internet has a wealth of information – if you can differentiate the reliable from the unreliable.

• STOP: Do you know and trust the website/source?
• INVESTIGATE THE SOURCE:  Know what you’re reading before you read it.
  • Just add Wikipedia - Search the URL of the website and add Wikipedia.
  • A good source should have a Wikipedia article. Ask:
    • Is the site or organization I am researching what I thought it was?
    • If not, does that make it more or less trustworthy?
• FIND BETTER COVERAGE: Want to know if a claim (Koalas are extinct!) is true or false?
  • Ignore the source that reached you and look for other trusted reporting or analysis.
  • Look for a consensus from authoritative sources.
• TRACE BACK TO THE ORIGINAL CONTEXT: Look for the source of claim, quote or media.
  • Was it accurately presented?
  • For academic purposes, find and cite the original source unless you are specifically referring to someone else’s analysis.