WR 122 Fink: Get Started
The Definition Exploration Assignment
The Definition Exploration assignment requires you to research how a term is used in different contexts, both popular and academic. This page of the guide provides access to some excellent reference sources to start to get a handle on how your term is defined, and some tips for exploring the ranges of contemporary use of that term in popular culture. The next page provides resources for seeing how the term is used in academic communication.
Find historical perspectives in reference sources
- Oxford English Dictionary (OED) This link opens in a new windowMore than 600,000 words defined, including historical meanings, word origins, and pronunciations. Examples of past usage are shown through quotations from a rich variety of English language sources.
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowProvides online versions of 500 published reference works, including general and specialized dictionaries and encyclopedias. Try the Concept Map to search for terms and topics that are interconnected and displayed in a visual form.
- Gale Ebooks (formerly GVRL) This link opens in a new windowGale eBooks has over 200 encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. Look here for biology, chemistry, nursing and medicine, sociology, history, education, law, and more.
Tips for exploring contemporary uses of a term
Here are some strategies for exploring how words are used in different contexts:
• Read the wikipedia article.
• Search tags on social media sites (Twitter, Instagram, etc.).
• Do a site-specific source of respected mainstream sources: for example:
You might try…
• New York Times nytimes.com - Practices fact-based journalism; has left leaning editorial bias
• Wall Street Journal wsj.com - Practices fact-based journalism; has right leaning editorial bias
• BBC – bbc.com – Practices fact-based journalism; British perspective
• Al Jazeera – aljazeera.com – Practices fact-based journalism; Middle East perspective
• Do a site specific search of sources outside of the mainstream with a specific perspective. For example:
• foxnews.com - pro-Trump, very conservative news source
• dailykos.com – anti-Trump, very progressive news source
• breitbart.com – white nationalist website
• focusonthefamily.com –conservative Christian website
• sojo.net – Sojourners, a liberal Christian website
Check the accuracy ratings and political bias of various news sources at mediabiasfactcheck.com