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College Writing: Official Guide

Gathering Sources

As you prepare to gather sources, ask yourself:

  1. What information do I need in order to complete my assignment?
  2. Who might write or create that sort of information?
  3. Where might I locate this information?

Identifying Your Information Need

Background Information Broad Overview Detailed Information
You probably already look at Wikipedia. It's a good place to start Try searching the Library Catalog for books to give you a topic overview. You probably already use Google Scholar. It's a great starting point. Make sure you are connected to WUSTL Libraries in your settings!
Try Gale Virtual Reference Library for thorough background information on a topic.  Have you thought about CQ Researcher? This gives you multiple types of sources for a topic overview. Academic Search Complete could give you more access to detailed information, such as peer reviewed, scholarly journal articles.