Skip to Main Content
Addlestone Library is open to the College of Charleston community and affiliates via card access. Visitors may access Addlestone Library Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, and must present a government issued ID and sign in upon entry.
CofC Logo

ENGL 110 Introduction to Academic Writing -- Durst: Home

Research resources for Professor Durst's Spring 2024 course

Links for Today's Class

Cast a Wide Net with the Discovery Service

For many searches, and especially when you need scholarly books and journals, using the main Discover search on the library homepage is the most efficient way to start research.

Peer-reviewed journal articles and academic books provide in-depth information, generally written by highly-regarded experts. Many initiatives to overcome societal problems are rooted in scholarly research. Can you draw connections between your artifact and scholarly research?

You can find scholarly sources in a number of library databases. The Discovery Service includes results from many (but not all!) of these databases at once. Starting with an Advanced Search is helpful when you are combining two or more search terms/concepts.

Source Types (and where to find them!)

Sometimes, though, it makes sense to start in a more specific database collection. For your RSA project, you might want to use a specific database to find background information or to find news articles. 

Background Information

Reference sources can help you find background information on your topic. This is helpful for general understanding, especially if you are new to this topic. These sources can also help you identify some good keywords to use as you research further. Most people know about Wikipedia--for a more scholarly source of background information, try the library database Credo Reference.

Newspapers, Magazines, and other Media

To fully understand context and impact, you may need to consult media reports on a topic/situation. You can filter newspaper articles in a Discovery search, but it can be more efficient to search newspapers directly. Some library databases are devoted specifically to newspapers. 

Web Results

You can learn a lot by searching the web. For example, you may need to visit the website of an organization or person to learn more about context. You can be a power searcher of Google by using the Advanced Search.

Google Advanced Search allows you to search by last updatesite or domain, and file type. You can also easily search for and browse archived magazines (ads and all) in Google Books.

Remember, anyone can publish something on the web, so evaluate web sources especially carefully.

Strategies for Evaluating Web Sources

A strategy called SIFT can help you evaluate a source by looking OUTSIDE the source itself.

SIFT stands for:

  • STOP: Assess what you know about the source. If it is from a creator/site that are unfamiliar to you or if  you aren't sure it is reliable, continue with the other steps.

  • INVESTIGATE: Do some quick research into the website, organization, or creator to learn more about where this information is coming from, and what the purpose/agenda might be.

  • FIND: Seek out additional, trusted coverage of the same information. Do sources you already know to be reliable back up the information from this source?

  • TRACE: Is the source you are examining the originator of the information? If it came from somewhere else, trace the claim to the original source. You may find additional, important context.

Finding Reusable Images Online

The Internet contains millions of images, and it is usually easy to download a copy of an image for reuse in a presentation or some other project. 
Keep in mind two things:

  • Image quality: Many online images are formatted to load quickly on screen, and they may look pixilated if you enlarge them for a presentation slide or print them in a paper.
  • Copyright: While using an image in an assignment is generally allowed under educational fair use, images online are protected by copyright just like other types of creative works (books, videos, music, etc). It's good practice to provide credit (attribution) when you use someone else's image, and if you know where to look, you can search specifically for images that come with permissions to reuse them. 

Using Google Images

One way to find these images is through a Google image search. Do a regular search on Google, then click Images, or start at images.google.com

Use the Tools to find images that are high quality and licensed for reuse:

  • Click Size and select Large
  • Click Usage Rights and select Creative Commons licenses.

Other Places to find Images

Creative Commons license - WikipediaMany of the images online that can be freely reused have something called a Creative Commons license. Look for the CC logo as you are searching. There are different types of CC licenses, but all of them allow you to use a CC-licensed work for noncommercial purposes (like education), as long as you credit the person who created it.

Try some of the following sites to find high-quality, reusable images licensed with Creative Commons or similar open licenses.

Librarian

Profile Photo
Gretchen Scronce
she/her/hers
Contact:
Addlestone Library, Room 101
843.953.5855

Ask Us!

Need Help LibChat

Contact

Location