LibGuides: Rhetoric 306/309: Find Sources

Find Sources

Many library databases provide well organized and high selective coverage of scholarly journal articles.

Try the following databases:

Academic Search Complete
Multidisciplinary, includes a mix of scholarly articles, popular magazines and newspapers articles.
JSTOR
Multidisciplinary. Has a tricky search, so be prepared for a lot of results.

Search Tips

When searching multidisciplinary databases, check for an option to limit your search to scholarly/peer-reviewed articles.
Differentiate scholarly articles from popular magazine articles, trade publications

Opinions, editorials and viewpoint articles can be found in multidisciplinary databases, newspapers, magazines and on the web.

Try these:

Nexis Uni
Searches local, state, national and international newspapers.
Chronicle of Higher Education
A source of news, information for higher education community.
Daily Texan
This covers until 2019. More recent issues on the Daily Texan website.

Data is the raw information from which statistics are created. It usually comes in the form of a digital data set that can be analyzed using software such as Excel.
Statistics provide an interpretation and summary of data.They usually come in the form of a table or chart.
The largest collector of data and statistics and the largest funding source for the collection of data and stats is the US Government.

What appears below is a start and should be used to inspire you to search for datasets/statistics relevant to your topic. Please ask a librarian if you need search help.

Social Explorer
Unlimited users.
Updated regularly. Provides easy access to historical census data for the United States. Allows users to visually analyze and understand the demography of any part of the United States with access to the following:
- Interactive thematic maps of historical census data
- Customized reports for any chosen area or areas (including aggregates)
- Complete coverage of the United States, down to neighborhoods and streets
- Simple navigation buttons and a find tool make it easy and efficient to study neighborhoods
Users can examine geographic areas while selecting the type of data to be shown, such as population density or income level. The corresponding data tables are also available.

Scholarly or Popular?

Scholarly articles are written by researchers or experts in a particular field. They use specialized vocabulary, have extensive citations, and are often peer-reviewed.
Popular magazine articles are typically written by journalists to entertain or inform a general audience,

Viewpoint or Informational?

Distinguishing between facts/information and viewpoints/opinions is a skill. Keep the following in mind:

A journalist observes, gathers, assesses and presents news and information. They are also called reporters. Journalists are trained to be fair and impartial - they keep their opinions out of the story.
A columnist or a critic works to persuade to convince you of a viewpoint based upon their expertise or experience.