ENGL 150 - Corbett
Where to Find Research Material at FLITE
Expanding Your Google Searches
Remember to use Google US Government and Google Advanced Search to find more reliable websites.
Websites for Internet Evaluation
Non-Partisan Sites (Annotations taken from MeL - the Michigan eLibrary)
FactCheck.org
The Annenberg Political Fact Check is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. FactCheck is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics by monitoring the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.
League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization established in 1920 to encourage citizen participation in government. It never supports or opposes any political party or candidate but does advocate on selected issues. Their Michigan Voter Power project provides quick, clear information on voting in Michigan.
PolitiFact
PolitiFact is a project of the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly to help you find the truth in the 2008 presidential campaign. Every day, reporters and researchers from the Times and CQ analyze the candidates' speeches, TV ads and interviews and determine whether the claims are accurate.
Project Vote Smart (The Voter's Self-Defense System)
Project Vote Smart provides non-partisan information including voting records, biographical and contact information, public statements, and campaign finance on persons elected to federal office.
Commission on Presidential Debates
Non-partisan sponsor of the three upcoming 2008 Presidential Debates
America.gov Guide to the 2008 Election
A website maintained by the U.S. Department of State, candidate and issue information is available from this site.
Instructor-Recommended Web Sites
The Pickens Plan
CNGNow.com
Investor's Business Daily.com
BBC News
US Elections 2008 from the British perspective
Online Election Information
Official Candidate and Political Party Websites
Baldwin-Castle (U.S. Taxpayers Party)
http://baldwin08.com/
Barr-Root (Libertarian Party)
http://www.bobbarr2008.com
McCain-Palin (Republican Party)
http://www.johnmccain.com
McKinney-Clemente (Green Party)
http://votetruth08.com
Nadar-Gonzalez (Natural Labor Party)
http://www.votenader.org
Obama-Biden (Democratic Party)
http://www.barackobama.com
Finding Topic Resources
To find journal articles, newspaper articles and reliable essays on a particular topic, for most of your assignments you would use one or more of the databases available on the FLITE Web site. These databases provide indexing to thousands of journal titles and other sources of authoritative data.
Topics for this assignment
CQ Researcher
CQ Researcher provides single-themed reports with in-depth, unbiased coverage of a pressing political or social issue, investigated and researched by identified journalists.
Facts on File - Issues and Controversies Select the "Issues and Controversies" database to find objective information on today's hot topics. Hint: Try searching for 2008 Presidential Race.
General OneFile
This is a general database that will be useful for searching about any topic you can come up with! The default search is a Subject Guide Search, allowing you to search one topic at a time. If you are having difficulties finding the proper subject term, switch to the Basic Search or Advanced Search and perform a keyword search. Also use the Basic Search or Advanced Search if combining search terms. In the Advanced Search you can limit your articles to particular journals, as well as to full-text, peer-reviewed, etc.
Click here for a General OneFile Database Guide.
Election Guide from World News Digest Library Database
World News Digest/Facts On File
Select the "2008 Presidential Election Guide" link under "In-Depth Coverage".
Citing Sources
Plagiarism
Plagiarism tutorials and self-help guides, plus a link to step-by-step citation assistance.
Citation Style Guide: MLA (PDF)
An online version of FLITE's MLA Quick Reference handout which requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.
MLA Format
More examples of how cite different types of sources using the MLA format.
Copies of the MLA Handbook (MLA handbook for writers of research papers) are found in the Ready Reference section on Floor 1 of the library near the Oval Information Desk.
Citations - a FLITE guide
A guide to understanding citations and a link to different online citation management tools.
Internet Evaluation - Surf Smart
Internet Resources Evaluation
Web Page Evaluation Checklist from University of California at Berkeley
Check out urban legends, hoaxes, and misinformation.
Snopes.com
Contact: Kristen Motz / Email / Phone: 231-591-3625 / Office: FLITE 140H
Don't forget, you are welcome to come to the Oval Information Desk and ask for help any time. You can also call us 231-591-3602 or chat with us.
Last update:October 9, 2008