Step 3

DUE at the Start of Class (Week 2):

1. Read Instructions on Step 2 Page

2. Read Instructions on Step 3 Page

3. Complete 10 Annotations in an Annotated Bibliography

DUE by the Start of Next Class (Week 3):

1. Read Instructions on Step 4 Page

2. Complete 50 Notecards from (using at least 10 sources)

Step 3: Location and Access

Step-at-a-glance

  • Find sources (both print and electronic).

  • Find the sections of information you need within those sources.

  • Continue gathering sources until you think you'll have enough evidence.

  • Complete an annotated bibliography of your reasons.

Locate sources

Go to a library:

Often reading an encyclopedia article about your subject will introduce you to the main ideas, pertinent dates, important people, or specific terms and key words related to the topic. This is only a jumping off point.

  • Find a book that is entirely or partially on your topic.

  • Explore reference books related to your subject.

Mrs. O'Neill, our awesome librarian, can also point you to some excellent text resources. Yay, books!


Three places online to get started:

  1. Library Databases (You have access to a vast number of articles with citations.)

  2. Google Scholar (These are peer-reviewed articles and you can limit your search by year. If you put PDF at the end of your search you will get the full article. Example: Search "Limiting a child's screen time PDF" will get you a number of articles.)

  3. Use an advanced search feature on a general search engine, limiting the domain to edu or gov or org sites, depending on your topic, to locate sponsored websites posted by authoritative, professional, or governmental institutions, organizations, or individuals. To limit to certain sites use "site:edu" at the end of your search string. To limit to certain types of files use "filetype:pdf" at the end of your search string. Keep in mind, some org sites may be from biased groups so be critical!

Understand how to limit or narrow a search to focus on pertinent information. Use Boolean Operators (and, or, not) to narrow or expand your search. Also, combine your topic with other phrases such as "social media sites," "negative impacts of social media," "benefits of social media usage," or "teens and social media."

Finding information within your sources:

  • Use the index or the table of contents of the books to locate the pertinent sections.

  • Use "Ctrl+F" on a PC or "Command+F" on a Mac to search a website for your keywords.


Citing your sources:

For help with MLA formatted citations, make sure to visit Columbia College's Citation Guide or Purdue University's Online Writing Lab. Get these as soon as you decide to use the source. You do not want to have to find them later!!

While EasyBib and Citation Machine are easy ways to get citations, the citations they create are only as good as the information you input. The purpose of a citation is to give credit to the author and to enable the reader to find that same source (plus, you avoid plagiarism). If your citation has "Np" or "Nd" which means "No publisher" or "No date" you probably haven't looked hard enough for that information.


Documents:

Annotated Bibliography Sample

WHS Student Annotated Bibliography Sample

(Please note: The real heading was removed from the student sample to protect the student's privacy. Your paper should have your header and title on the first page and then annotations on subsequent pages. Don't repeat your header for every annotation.)