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ESL Level 5 - Summer 2020 - Christina Momono: Library Research

This guide will help students in Christina Momono's ESL class find relevant library resources

Welcome!

Researching World Leaders

 George Washington portrait

George Washington, painting by Rembrandt Peale, circa 1850
http://art.famsf.org/rembrandt-peale/george-washington-53151

Contacting Tim

Not finding what you need?

Feeling frustrated?

Having trouble using the library databases?


Then it’s probably time to ask a librarian for some help.

Tim Aman, SCC Librarian
tim.aman@scc.spokane.edu

If you need immediate help, contact a librarian any time using our online chat service.

24/7 live chatchat 

(Evenings and weekends you may be chatting with a librarian from another college. Ask for an SCC librarian to contact you for follow-up if needed.)

Recommended Sources and Searching Tips

The purpose of this research guide is to help students in Christina Momono's ESL class find credible and academic information sources.  This guide will suggest useful sources, search techniques and evaluation methods for researching your topic.

 

LIBRARY RESEARCH DATABASES

Scholarly Encyclopedias - concise, general background information; articles often written by experts who are university professors

History - useful for historical figures like presidents and political leaders

Books

  • eBook Collection - 150,000 ebooks selected for college and university researchers
    Don't worry about reading a whole book. Just look for small bits of information that you can use for your research.

Evaluating Information and Domain Searching

WWW Test - ask these questions when determining whether a source is reliable, especially when Googling.

  • Who's the author or organization responsible for the information?  Does the author or organization have expertise?
  • What's the nature of the information?  Is it objective or biased?  Is it based on careful research?
  • When was it written?  Is it appropriately up-to-date?

Domain Searching

Try limiting your Google search to a particular domain (such as .edu or .gov which are restricted domains). You may find more reliable information.  Here are a couple of search examples:

Nelson Mandela biography site:.edu

George Washington biography site:.gov