Inquiry (Pg 120-138)

Summary: This chapter focuses on strategies you can use to find credible sources to use in your paper. Before you can start your research for credible source, you have to know what you're looking for. In other words you must know your topic and maybe even have a working thesis. Also before starting your search, you can ask for help from experts such as your writing instructor, librarians and manuals. You should know beforehand what sources you will be coming across and which sources you plan on depending the most. When doing research it is important to know the difference between primary and secondary sources. A primary source is when the author witnesses or experiences a situation firsthand and writes about it. A secondary source is an analysis of information without of a primary source. The author does not witness or experience something firsthand, but only comments on the situation. To determine which articles you should use you have to be able to tell the difference between popular or scholarly sources. A popular source of information are big name newspapers or magazines. This type of information cannot be specialized and reaches a larger audience. Scholarly sources are peer reviewed. Once you're done determining the type of sources you need you can start researching. You can use both the internet and library sources. When researching on the internet it is important to look up key words relating to your topic. This narrows down your search and will most likely give you what you're looking for. When using library sources it important to evaluate the source your using to make sure it's appropriate. You should be looking for the authors background, the purpose of the writing, the authors personal view, etc.

Quote #1: "We assume that by the time you visit the library or log onto the internet to find sources, you are not flying blind" (Pg 121).

I think this is really important to remember when doing a research paper. Going into research blindly without knowing exactly what you want to look for will only make things harder on your part. You will end up with a broad research topic and have to do unnecessary work. Knowing your topic and the key parts of your topic you want to find out will narrow down your research.

Quote #2: "Again, as you define your task for yourself, it is important to consider why you would use one source or another" (Pg 126).

I think this is important as well. The type of research you need to conduct is solely based on the type of information that you need in your paper. It is important to use the correct type of resources to support your claim and give your readers credible information

Questions:
1. Can you ever use both popular and and scholarly resources in your paper?