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ESL400 (Kaiser)

Research guide to assist students in Prof Kaiser's ESL400 class (Fall 2025)

Choosing Resources

You're probably already familiar with the different kinds of resources you find when searching online, but not all of them are going to be the right fit for your assignments. When searching and choosing resources for an assignment consider:

  • Is it relevant to your topic? Does it support your points?
  • Is it reliable? Does it have references and outside links to show where information comes from? Is it biased?
  • Is it relatable? Is it something you're comfortable using? Is it clear and accessible for your needs?
  • There isn't a checklist: use your critical thinking skills for all sources you encounter
  • If you're not sure, ask. Ask your instructor or a librarian what hey think of a source if you're unsure of it's appropriateness
  • Don't try to make a bad source fit, instead look for a better source.

Here is an overview of different types of sources you might encounter and some considerations to make.

Common Types of Resources
  Personal &               Non-traditional Sources Organizational Websites Popular News Sources Library Books & Articles
Examples Social media, blogs, YouTube, podcasts Official websites for organizations, companies, governments Newspaper articles, magazine articles, online news Original research, scholarly work, published works
How you usually find them Searching Google Searching Google Searching Google or Library resources Searching Google or Library resources
Created by A variety of people - you have to figure out who is creating it and why The organizations themselves but you have to figure out who is paying for it and what the purpose is Journalists and news organizations - usually to share information about current events/interests but still might have bias. Might be more for entertainment than education Researchers, scholars, experts in a field - it’s pretty easy to figure out who and why
Useful for First-hand accounts and experiences, personal opinions, background and context information on a topic Background information Understanding an issue in an accessible format, links to other sources Deeper research, references to other sources, a thorough examination of a specific topic
Readability, accessibility, and usefulness Easy to access and understand but might not be suitable for your assignments Easy to access and understand, but might not have enough content to be useful on a topic Easy to access and understand, but quality can vary Not always written for a popular audience and can be too specific for general needs