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COM 104 Crtitical Thinking in Public Argument: Library Guides

Resources for COM 104 students

Information Timeline: How Sources Emerge Over Time

The Day Of: Television, Internet, & Radio ➡️
The Week Of: Newspapers ➡️
The Week After: Popular Magazines ➡️
Months After: Academic & Scholarly Journals ➡️
A Year After: Books & Government Publications ➡️
Years After: Reference Books ➡️

The Information Life Cycle Tutorial

COM 104 Fall 2023 Slides

SIFT, Scholarly vs. Popular Sources, Research Articles, and the CRAAP Test

How to Spot Fake News

Infographic titled "How to Spot Fake News" with tips and red icons illustrating each point.

Consider the source: Click away from the story to investigate the site, its mission and its contact info.

Read beyond: Headlines can be outrageous in an effort to get clicks. What’s the whole story?

Check the author: Do a quick search on the author. Are they credible? Are they real?

Supporting sources? Click on those links. Determine if the info given actually supports the story.

Check the date: Reposting old news stories doesn’t mean they’re relevant to current events.

Is it a joke? If it is too outlandish, it might be satire. Research the site and author to be sure.

Check your biases: Consider if your own beliefs could affect your judgement.

Ask the experts: Ask a librarian, or consult a fact-checking site.

How to Avoid Plagiarism

"No plagiarism" symbol.

Using Quick Search

When to Use Quick Search:

 
  • you are first starting your research
  • to get ideas or background info you have had difficulty finding sources in other databases you need
  • an alternative to Google - easy searching but with more credible/reliable results

On the left sidebar, you can "Refine Your Search" a number of different ways--including by publication date & scholarly/peer reviewed sources.

Databases & Other Sources for Opinion Pieces

Finding Government Information

Government information can be very useful when searching a wide variety of topics. One of the easiest ways is to go to Google! After you type in your keywords, then type in site:gov (example: air pollution site:.gov) to limit your search to only government-related resources. This will include federal, state, and local resources.

Op-Eds

Think Tanks/Research Organizations

APA Citation Style Resources

An anatomy of a citation for an APA journal article with labeled components in different colors.

  • Authors (blue): Last name, followed by initials. Example: Luo, L., & Craik, F. I. M.
  • Year (red): The publication year is enclosed in parentheses. Example: (2008).
  • Title of the article (green): Only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized. Example: Aging and memory: A cognitive approach.
  • Journal title (purple): Italicized to indicate the source. Example: Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.
  • Volume and issue number (orange): The volume number is italicized, followed by the issue number in parentheses. Example: 53(5),
  • Page numbers (black): Indicating where the article appears in the journal. Example: 346-53.

Urban Affairs Librarian

Profile Photo
Susie Skarl, Urban Affairs Librarian
Contact:
UNLV Libraries
Lied Library
4505 S. Maryland Parkway
Box 457014
Las Vegas, NV 89154-7014
susie.skarl@unlv.edu
702-895-2141
© University of Nevada Las Vegas