SCRIPT
Good morning everyone! Today, we’ll be talking about a crucial skill in
research and critical thinking—finding, evaluating, and using sources. While
my teacher will cover evaluating and using sources, I’ll focus on the first and
most important step: finding reliable sources.
In today’s world, we are surrounded by an overwhelming amount of
information, whether from books, websites, social media, or academic
journals. But how do we know where to start? How do we refine our searches
to get the most relevant and trustworthy sources?
In this presentation, I’ll guide you through the key strategies for finding
sources effectively. We’ll cover:
🔹 How to refine your search with the right questions and keywords
🔹 The difference between directional and informational sources
🔹 Tips to ensure the sources you find are credible and useful
By the end of this session, you’ll be better equipped to find high-quality
sources for your research, saving time and improving the reliability of your
work. So, let’s get started with our first topic: refining your search!
HUY
In the past, students often struggled with limited resources when conducting
research. Today, we face the opposite problem—there’s so much information
available in libraries and online that it can feel overwhelming.
Researching an argumentative essay requires strategy. While a complete
guide would be impossible to cover in a few pages, one thing is clear:
effective research isn’t just about finding information—it’s about finding the
right information.
Consider this: the Guide to Reference Books contains over 16,000 entries
across 2,000 pages. With so many sources available, where do you even
begin? The best approach is to use resources wisely and seek expert help.
One of the most valuable resources in any library isn’t a book or database—
it’s the reference librarian. These professionals can guide you to reliable
sources, refine your research, and help you navigate the vast world of
information.
So, as you work on your research, remember: information is everywhere, but
how you use it makes all the difference. Stay organized, seek guidance, and
approach research with a critical mind. Thank you!
Linh
Nhi
Sương
Slide 28
Hi everyone, I’ll continue my group presentation to talk about
directional sources and how they can help you refine your
research.
When looking for information in books, journals, or online, it’s
easy to feel overwhelmed by the huge amount of available data.
So, Directional sources will be a tool to help you narrow down
your search and find relevant materials more efficiently.
I’ll cover 3 main categories: bibliographies, indexes & databases,
and internet search tools.
Slide 29
A. Bibliographies
- A bibliography is a list of books and other materials on a specific
subject. It provides key details like the author’s name, title,
publisher, and publication date. However, bibliographies don’t just
include books—they can also list, recordings, films, photos…
- And The most familiar type of bibliography for students is the
catalog, which can be found online in almost library.
Besides catalogs, we also have some important types of
bibliographies, that is
Slide 30
• The National Union Catalog – which list books published in the
U.S.
Slide 31
• The British National Bibliography – which cover UK publications
since 1950.
Slide 32
B. Indexes and Databases
- bibliographies provide lists of sources, meanwhile indexes and
databases help us search for specific articles or documents. When
doing research, it’s important to know where to look for
information, we need reliable sources. Instead of searching
everywhere, we can use indexes and databases to find
information faster.
Indexes help us find articles in journals, magazines, and
newspapers. They organize these articles by subject and provide
details like title, author, and publication date. Here, I have some
well-known indexes for you:
• The Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature – listing
magazine articles.
Slide 33
• Poole’s Index to Periodical Literature – covering older
periodicals.
On the other hand, databases provide electronic access to
research materials. Some databases provide full – text access,
meaning we can read the whole article.
There are two main types of Database:
1. Subject-Specific Databases – Focused on one field of study.
2. General Databases – Cover many subjects.
Slide 35
C. Internet Search Engines, Guides, and Directories
The internet has made research easier, but it also creates
challenges because of the overwhelming number of results.
- Internet search engines and metasearch engines will help
provide some direction when you are looking for information.
- Help point you in the right direction, though they will not provide
the actual information you are seeking.
Thúy Dy
Hi everyone! Thank for …’s presentation. I’m Vy and the next part is Information
Sources. ( bấm ) Firstly I will talk about Encyclopedia.
-An encyclopedia is a comprehensive reference work that provides information on a wide
range of topics, offering both specific answers and general overviews with historical
[Link] encyclopedia is available in print and online, with popular examples such as
Wikipedia ( bấm )
-Do you see in the screen? This is the symbol of Wikipedia. Although Wikipedia is a
widely used free resource, its content is edited by users and may not be reliable. (bấm) 1 good
example is this article: Wikipedia was blocked in pakistan for 48 hours over unlawful content. It
was then fully blocked but later restored by the Prime Minister because of its educational value.
(bấm)
-Moreover, they can be helpful first steps toward understanding the basic concepts
behind difficult subjects in disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, theology, science, and
literature. ( bấm )There are some types of encyclopedias:
- General encyclopedias: Encyclopedia Britannica, Columbia, and Grolier
- Subject encyclopedias:
+ Encyclopedia of Psychology (American Psychological Association)
+ Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Macmillan Reference)
+ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (online)
.... (bấm)
Additionally, the Oxford Companion series (Oxford Companion to English Literature,
Oxford Companion to Chess, and so forth) provides an excellent starting place for researchers
looking for basic information.
- The Oxford Companion to English Literature is a well-known reference book on
English literature, first published in 1932 and regularly updated. It was edited by respected
scholars, this book is widely used by students and teachers as a reliable guide to English literary
history. (bấm)
- The Oxford Companion to Chess is a comprehensive reference book on chess, first
published in 1984. This book is widely regarded as one of the best single-volume chess
references, useful for both casual players and serious enthusiasts. (bấm)
Secondly, I will talk about dictionaries. A dictionary is a reference book or an online
resource that provides definitions of words. Unabridged Dictionaries: Comprehensive
dictionaries that include nearly all English words, including colloquial, vulgar, esoteric, or
archaic. (bấm)
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is the most comprehensive, containing around
600,000 word forms. (bấm) Smaller dictionaries, such as Merriam- Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary, will serve for many definitions, as will a number of convenient and reliable Internet
dictionaries ([Link], [Link]). (bấm) Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is a
widely used American English dictionary, first published in 1898. It provides definitions,
pronunciations, and word origins, regularly updated to reflect language changes. (bấm)
Specialized Dictionaries: dictionaries of slang, legal terms, rhyming words, symbols,
clichés, sign language, saints, theater, math, philosophy,...
On the Internet, start with OneLook Dictionaries ([Link]), which
indexes more than one thousand general and specialized online dictionary
websites.
Tú
Kvy
1. Governemnt documents:
Governemnt documents are information including everything published by
the USA.
For examples, we can have marriage certificates, national ID cards,
environmental impact reports, …
We can access them through databases, online services or a few libraries.
And with the diversity of information, government documents are more and
more popular in society.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
These are some ways that you can look up information about government
documents on the Internet.
We can begin with the phrase [Link] or [Link] and after that,
we can find the effective and reliable resources.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
2. Human resources:
This is the resource providing valuable information more effeciently and
written sources.
Information can be about the expert advice, opinions, firsthand information
or direct you toward different resource.
With simple questions which can be answered quickly or an extended
interview, we can collect lots of the most useful information about one topic.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
And these are some tips for an effective interview:
The first step is considering human resources. For example, we can meet
someone such as faculty members, local experts and government officials,
they can be reliable with some information in their field.
The second is preparing well-structured questions for interviewees. When we
preapare for the interview carefully, we can avoid missing beneficial details
from people.
We can divide the queries into simple to make it easy for the interviewees
Such as with the fact-based questions, we can ask “How much revenue does
the city takk in each year in taxes?”
And beside that we can ask some questions that allow the interviewee to
expand on an issue such as “Should the city lower the tax rate?”
Finally, we should be courteous, finish the interview in a reasonable amount
of time and after that follow up with a thak you by e-mail or letter.
