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Britannica School is an encyclopedia source, and it also includes primary source documents. 


ImageQuest allows you to search millions of rights-cleared images to use in your work.


NOTE: The Britannica databases require a username and password to use at home. You can access this information here.

 

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Researching the Right Way

After you have selected a research topic, the next step is to choose the best resources to find the information you need.

Examples of sources:

  • Books
  • Databases
  • News sources (print and online)
  • Magazines
  • Professional journals
  • Websites
  • Primary source documents

Which resources are best will depend on your topic and assignment. For example, if you are looking for information on new developments in stem cell research, you will need recently published information, so news articles, reliable websites, and databases will probably be most useful. If, on the other hand, you are researching the causes of the American Civil War, the resources do not need to be recently published, so you will probably find books and primary source documents to be useful in addition to databases and reliable websites.

Using information from reliable resources is important because it helps you to fully understand your topic and it lends credibility to your work. There are three ways to incorporate your research into your writing:

  • Quoting
  • Paraphrasing
  • Summarizing

Keep in mind that you must always cite your source even if you are not using a direct quote.

Read more about quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing on the Purdue OWL.

Every time you use information from one of your sources, you must include an in-text citation. This citation should be placed in parentheses after the information (but before the period) and generally includes the author's last name and the page number on which the information appeared. Here is an example of a quote from the book The Cheyenne by Gwen Remington:

"Because the Cheyenne lacked a written language, little is known of their early history" (Remington 8).


You must also use an in-text citation when you paraphrase or summarize:

The Cheyenne faced difficult weather conditions ranging from blizzards in the winter to thunderstorms and hail in the summer (Remington 12).


Learn more about in-text citations, including how to cite sources without authors or without page numbers, on the Purdue OWL.

Taking good notes when you are reading a piece you plan to cite in your writing is important. Why? Not only will it help you to keep your writing organized, but it will also help you to avoid accidental plagiarism.

You must credit ALL information you use from other sources—not just direct quotes but ideas that you paraphrase or summarize, too. Using one of the strategies explained below will help you to do this!

If you would like to take notes on the computer:

  • Use a google doc and remember to type which source your information came from as you take your notes.

If you prefer to take notes by hand:

  • Write the title and author of each source at the top of a new page.
  • For every word-for-word passage you copy into your notes, use quotation marks and write a large “Q” in the margin as a reminder that it is a direct quote.
  • When you decide to put an idea from the text in your own words, write a large “S” in the margin to indicate it came from the source.
  • When you write down your own reflection or insight, write “ME” in the margin.
  • Be sure to write the page number in parentheses after every “Q” or “S” note—MLA format requires page numbers in citations when they are given.

You've heard it over and over from your teachers: You must include a Works Cited page. A Works Cited page is not just a list of links. A Works Cited page in MLA format has a specific structure. Take a look at the example below:


The first citation is from a book, and the second is from the World Book Online encyclopedia. Most citations include the author's name, source title, publisher, date published, and medium (such as print or web). To easily create citations in the correct format, use the EasyBib add-on. If you are using an online database, you might be able to obtain the citation from there; for example, the second citation above was obtained from the World Book Online encyclopedia entry.

Formatting tips:

  • Just like the rest of your paper, your Works Cited page should be double-spaced and the font should be size 12 Times New Roman.
  • Do not add spaces after your title or after each citation—just press Enter and start on the following line.
  • Each citation should have a hanging indent—this means that the first line of each citation starts at the left margin and all of the following lines are indented.