WR 122 Erwert: Find Sources
Find sources to support your thesis
The Science and Belief Project requires using sources to explain and support your claims. Here are some of the different types of sources you might use:
Primary sources (first-hand examples and evidence). For example:
- websites by the holders of the belief
- articles or editorials written by a belief holder
- blogs or social media posts
- interviews
Secondary sources (articles and commentary about the belief). For example:
- articles written for the general public
- news articles
- magazine articles
- other organizational articles
- research articles (also called scholar, peer-reviewed, academic)
Learn more about finding these different types of sources below.
News sources
Most news sources have some sort of political leaning. Quality news sources separate their news articles, which should be objective and fact-based, from their opinion articles (also called editorials or commentary). Here are some resources for finding and evaluating news articles.
Find news sources:
- US Major Dailies This link opens in a new windowFull text newspapers from five U.S. national and regional newspapers: New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune
- New York TimesPCC students can get a free subscription to the New York TImes online!
- Google NewsQuick tool for searching a range of news sources. Some of the news sources have strong political biases, but by seeing a range of sources provides balance.
- All SIdes Balanced SearchBalanced search tool allows you to sort results based on left, center or right political perspective. Includes "news" sources far outside of the mainstream.
Evaluate news sources:
- Media Bias/Fact CheckProvides an analysis of hundreds of news sources about their political bias and accuracy rating.
- WikipediaA fact checker's first stop for learning about a source.
Web research
A web search using Google, Duck Duck Go or another favorite search engine can retrieve excellent sources of information from universities, government agencies, respected non-profit organizations and other research institutions. It can also retrieve factoids, misinformation and commercial advertising posing as information, so search carefully. This video provides tips for finding quality sources online.
Video: Find Articles through the PCC Library
Recommended databases
- EBSCOhost This link opens in a new windowSearch from a wide range of research databases for magazine and journal articles. Updated daily. View the EBSCOhost handout
Mobile URL: EBSCOhost Mobile - Ethnic Newswatch This link opens in a new windowFull text newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic minority and native press. Provides a rich collection of articles, editorials, and reviews with a broad diversity of perspectives and viewpoints. Also a good source of ethnic recipes. Coverage is from 1980 to the present. View the Ethnic NewsWatch handout
- Opposing Viewpoints (Gale In Context) This link opens in a new windowA one-stop source for information on current social issues. Includes viewpoint articles on both sides of an issue, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full text magazine and newspaper articles. View the Opposing Viewpoints handout [pdf]
- Popular Magazines (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new windowFeatures full text coverage of the top 1,000 most searched magazines across Gale's InfoTrac. Current events, sports, science, health and more.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar (scholar.google.com) is an online tool for finding academic research articles. The content is similar to what is available in library databases, but the search tool is easier to use. You can connect Google Scholar to PCC library databases so you can get more access to free articles. Learn more in this video tutorial.
Searching Databases
This video offers tips and tricks to efficiently search databases for the information you are looking for.
From Yavapai College Libraries.