Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Tatyana Kan
ENG112-07
Prof. Intawiwat
June 26, 2016
Assignment: Discuss Sources and the best and worst places to find sources and why. What
is the purpose of incorporating sources?
Kan 2
researcher uses secondary sources, he/she will be to some extent influenced by the ideas and
points of view of other people, i.e. the authors of these secondary sources.
Speaking of the best places to find sources, the first thing that comes to my mind is
Online research databases, such as ProQuest. These professional research databases include the
huge variety of scholarly journals, articles from trustworthy magazines and reputable
newspapers. Many of these sources are peer-reviewed, which proves their credibility. Also there
are government, academic or organization websites that provide reliable information. Another
great source of dependable information is the library, where books, magazines, newspapers and
any other materials are reviewed by experienced staff (Ruszkiewicz 442).
Among the worst places to find academic sources Wikipedia is probably the champion.
Even though it calls itself an encyclopedia, a serious word that is usually associated with
scholarly research, it is not considered a reliable source, because everyone can contribute
information there. Nevertheless, Wikipedia might serve as a good start for a preliminary
research. Other examples of bad sources of dependable information are commercial web sites,
personal blogs, tabloid press, etc. The information provided by these sources is usually biased,
incompetent, and rarely supported by solid evidence.
The main purpose of incorporating sources is to provide credible information that will
support writer's arguments, or illustrate writer's ideas with convincing examples, thus giving the
reader an impression that the paper is well-grounded and its author is knowledgeable and
trustworthy.
Works cited
Ruszkiewicz, John J., Dolmage, Jay T. How To Write Anything, Third Edition.
Bedford/St.Martin's, Boston,