Hello Communication students.
This video will cover several tips on where to find resources for your informative and persuasive speeches.
For these assignments, topics and source types vary widely,
so the resources that you need might be very different from what your peers need.
Additionally, because you require such a small number of sources for each of these speeches, it's important to try to find the strongest ones.
Rather than jumping straight to the web, think strategically about where good information on your topic would come from.
Here are three things to think about:
First—How would you categorize your topic? What discipline or disciplines would it fall under?
Second—What would primary research look like in this area? What would popular sources in that area look like?
Third—Who would be an expert or authority in that area? What gives them that authority? And where would their work show up?
Answering these questions before you start searching
will help you decide which databases and source types will be most relevant and appropriate for your topic.
For most topics, a good place to start will be Summon, from the library's homepage.
You can perform a search similar to how you might in an open search engine, but with better filters and tools.
After you click search, pay special attention to the content type filter to make your results list more manageable.
For instance, "Reference" will be good for encyclopedia-like entries for background information,
"Government Document" will have official U.S. government publications,
and "Journal Article" will limit to more academic articles.
You can also find "Newspaper Articles" here—it is crossed out by default,
but click the green checkmark next to the source type and then "Apply" at the top to see results just for that type.
Limiting by date can also be especially helpful in making your results list more manageable and relevant.
Another great feature of Summon is its cite feature.
If you find a source you like, go to the entry in the Summon results, and click on the quotation mark symbol.
Choose the appropriate style to get a formatted citation for that source.
If you want to know more about summon, see our EPIC guide at the URL listed on the screen.
If your topic happens to be about or relate to a current issue, the library has specialized databases that can help,
called "CQ Researcher" and "Points of View Reference Center".
These include overviews of topics that have strong pro and con positions, like immigration and the death penalty;
complex problems with debated solutions, like child labor and obesity;
and hot subjects, like foreign policy and the ride- sharing industry.
They are a great help to understanding contentious issues for your personal use as well.
Each of these resources will give background information, pro and con articles on each side of a relevant aspect,
and further resources like books and articles, for you to look up in our library.
They are a great place to browse if you're looking for a topic, especially for your persuasive speech,
and you will likely be able to use some of the sources they suggest in your speeches.
Depending on your assignment and the parameters set by your instructor,
it's often best to cite the specific books and articles suggested by these database overviews, rather than the entire overview itself.
If you like to use Google's search engine, there are a couple tricks you can use to search more strategically for these assignments.
For many topics, authoritative sources can be found from government agencies, organizations, and associations,
which often produce their own studies and reports.
This source type will often be stronger and more in depth than what you'll find in news articles and popular websites.
To find these quickly, you can do a "site" search in Google using domains.
In addition to your keywords, simply add "site:.gov" or "site:.org".
The results you will see will only include results that contain ".gov" or ".org" in their URL.
Remember: This is another way to filter your results and you will still need to evaluate the credibility and strength of each source.
Another way you might try to find similar sources is by adding the word "association" or "organization" to your key terms.
This can help you find groups that study your topic without knowing what those groups might be called.
Some of these organizations may have reports, data, resources, and other materials freely available.
Look for links in their menus called "Resources" or "Publications".
Not all organizations will provide these materials for free, so just move on if not, and see if you can find information from a similar entity.
It can be tempting to jump straight to the familiar web to search for sources for these assignments,
but it can also be overwhelming and misguiding.
By thinking ahead and using some of the tips from this video, you can make your searching more effective and efficient.
As always, contact me in the library if you have questions about finding resources for your particular topic.
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