College Essay Research Guide
Research-O-Matic
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Selecting Reliable Sources For Your Essay
Most people start their researching for an essay with a google search. The problem with this is separating reliable sources from non-reliable sources.
Things to look for while selecting a sources for your college essay or research paper:
Is an author listed
Does it have an agenda -- pro or con on the topic they cover
Is it for profit or trying to steer you toward a product
Is it timely-- is the information provided dated if appropriate
Is it for profit or non profit
Do they provide references or link to other reliable sources
Two generally respected sources are governmental and educational. You can avoid a lot of wasted time by limiting your search to them.
The box below limits results to government and educational sites only.Search Government And Education Sites Only
Some unenlightened people have an issue with using Wikipedia as a source. The solution to this is simple, at the bottom of every page is a list of sources for that article. In your essay instead of citing wikipedia you can site those sources.
Wikepedia is a great place to start any research: it gives a good and current overview of the subject, it is extremely comprehensive and has no agenda.
Search Wikipedia only
Peer Reviewed Journals
If you are doing an essay or research paper that requires journal citations the following two links should point you in the right direction.
Peer Reviewed JournalsMedical Journals
CIA - The World Factbook
For information on population, government, military, and economic information for nations I recommend the CIA - The World Factbook. The online Factbook is updated bi-weekly.
Simple Dictionary -- Dictionary-O-Matic Find the right words fast. Dictionary and Thesauruses.Research Papers - How To Write It Fast!
