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WR 122 - English Composition II - Nowak

In addition to resources useful for WR122 research papers, this guide includes specific additional resources for the instructor's specific assignments and requirements.

Sources for this course

To complete assignments in this class you are asked to locate five different types of sources related to climate change. The following library resources are places to find sources that meet these requirements:

Magazine or newspaper feature article available online: Try these magazine and newspaper sources.

Report published for/by a government agency or professional organization and available online: If you have a particular agency or organization in mind you can try searching their site directly. They may even have a page titled something like "publications" or "reports." If you're not sure where to look you can try the National Service Center for Environmental Publications.

To find required sources published in academic journals (commentary/supported arguments, systematic literature reviews and original research articles) we suggest starting in the library's EBSCO article databases, which provide full-text access with no charge to you. Google Scholar may also be a good source for this assignment, but some articles will have a paywall; ask for help with interlibrary loan if you are unable to find a free copy of your source.

Adding the term "literature review" to your search can be a helpful, but do not add terms like "original research" since that phrase is rarely explicitly included in the title or abstract of the article. Checking the "scholarly" and/or "peer reviewed" boxes in the list of EBSCO filters is recommended. This and other search strategies for EBSCO are demonstrated in the video tutorials linked on the left if you need help.

Literature Reviews

An assignment in this course has you looking closely at a particular kind of scholarly article called a literature review. A literature review is one of the ways scholars make sure they are doing work that is original but grounded in the knowledge of the discipline: the research they and other scholars in the field have published up to that point. Often called the introduction, short literature reviews precede most peer reviewed articles. Longer and more comprehensive literature reviews can be published as standalone pieces. And systematic reviews in particular are intended to review and analyze the existing literature in a very thorough and, not surprisingly, systematic way, with well-defined criteria for what to include and exclude in the review.

Locating & Using Permalinks from Library Databases

What is a permalink?

A permalink is a persistent link to an article or other source found in a library database. An RCC affiliated person can then reliably use the link to access the source well into the future.

Why should I use a permalink instead of URLs?

The URL from a database is created for that particular session and will not give the intended user access to the article. Use the permalink instead to give other RCC affiliated users access to the article.

How do I find the permalink in the library database?

The permalink tool is usually found on the right-hand menu in the record of the article. Select the permalink tool and then copy and paste the permalink generated at the top of the page. Refer to the image below.

APA Citation Style

The library maintains a guide to APA Citation Style. Librarians are also happy to help with specific citation questions.