ENGL 250 - Vasicek
Where to Find Research Material at FLITE
Finding Database Resources
To find journal articles, newspaper articles and reliable essays on a particular topic, 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.
Topic Databases
CQ Researcher
Congressional Quarterly provides essays on hot topics in Washington.
Issues and Controversies/Facts On File
Select "Issues and Controversies" to look at in-depth investigation of today's top issues.
2008 Presidential Election Guide/World News Digest/Facts On File
Select "World News Digest" to explore a special election guide covering major issues.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context
Opposing Viewpoints contains full-text book chapters and articles showing all sides of contemporary controversial issues.
Newspapers
Access World News
Access World News contains the full-text of nearly 1700 primarily English-language news sources from around the world
NewsBank News Headlines
Click "News Headline" link on the left to quickly check for the most current information available on topics of interest.
General Journal Article Databases
Academic OneFile
A very large full-text database with over 50 million articles covering a wide variety of subjects, Academic OneFile indexes both newspapers and journals.
WilsonSelect Plus
This database is completely full-text and includes articles from subject fields including science, humanities, education and business. Coverage is from 1994 to the present.
Suggestions to retrieve better/more results:
- Search topic as both a keyword and subject
- Combine terms with AND or OR
- Set date ranges limit to a specific time
- Use quotes for phrases
Other databases are sorted by subject from the Database Access page.
Please read Off Campus Database Access for information on searching from home.
Getting the Article
If HTML or PDF full text options are available, click the link to go directly to the full text.
If full text is not an option:
Click the "Find It", link or button;
Select red GO button.
Online Election Information - Reliable Websites
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
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.
Additional Sites of Potential Interest
Commission on Presidential Debates
Non-partisan sponsor of the three upcoming 2008 Presidential Debates
MyDebates.org
The Commission on Presidential Debates has partnered with MySpace to create an Internet educational space where users can suggest questions, create posts, and interact with forums about the debates at www.MyDebates.org.
MEL (Michigan eLibrary) Elections 2008
Additional links to the Democratic and Republican Conventions, and other potentially useful sites.
Finding Books at FLITE
For books and documents in the circulating collection (Main Stacks), use the Online Catalog.Search either using keyword or subject.
Book Locations
- Main Stacks, Call Numbers A-H - Lower Level
- Main Stacks, Call Number J-Z - Third Floor
- Reference - First Floor
- Government Documents - Second Floor
MelCat
Use MelCat to look up books in other Michigan Libraries. MelCat items will be delivered to the circulation desk and you will receive an Email when the items arrive.
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.
Citation Style Guide: APA (PDF)
An online version of FLITE's APA Quick Reference handout, also requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.
APA List of References
More examples of how cite different types of sources using the APA format.
Copies of the full-length APA manual (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed.) and 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 that can help you input your sources and create your bibliographies.
Internet Evaluation
Websites for Internet Evaluation
Class handouts for Internet Evaluation
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: September 22, 2008