Where To Find Sources For Academic Research Papers

Writing research papers today have been made easy by the advent of a fast, mostly reliable and highly advanced internet system. Now all one needs to do is log onto the web and the rest of the work is done by the computer. However, there are many other places where one can get information for academic purposes.

  1. The library
  2. The most credible source for information, as regarded by most people, is the library. Public libraries contain hundreds of books of a variety of authors and subjects. So students have a broad range of choice when finding something for their paper. The literatures not only have detailed data and information but many of them also have bibliographies where additional information can be found. The reason why teachers, professors and academic instructors advice their students to head for a library is because of the amount of information it holds.

  3. Databases of Academic Papers
  4. There are a great number of online databases available that are very reliable. There are databases of medical data, of scientific information, of humanities subjects etc. These databases can be accessed from home or from the college or school library. Some public libraries also have this facility.

  5. Magazines and Newspapers
  6. Today’s generation rarely thinks of these as useful for anything (apart from the comics and sports sections), but the reality is that these contain quite a lot of helpful information that may prove to be useful for the research paper. If the research topic is related to a global or international issue, or even if it’s related to a local problem, chances are, newspapers will have the information required. The important thing to remember when finding sources is the authenticity. And nothing is more authentic than newspapers (and some magazines).

  7. Videos
  8. Online videos are also great sources for research papers; they are easier to understand, and convenient. Instead of reading pages and pages of information, videos allow people to just sit back and listen. There are professors and online universities that provide with reliable academic videos for students. When writing a research essay, the teacher is looking for the student to come up with different sources, and so, here is where educational videos come in handy.

  9. Websites and Online sources
  10. This source has to be mentioned last because people need to realize that there ARE other sources available as well. Websites also have a great amount of information but a huge percentage of it isn’t true or correct. And that’s why online sources should NOT be relied on heavily. There’s a lot of data out there and the greatest challenge is finding those that are useful and correct. However, if a reliable site is known, it is a quick and easy source for the paper.

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