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EN2100 Speech Guide

Library resources for EN2100 Speech

Credible Sources

Avoid using Editorials or Letters to the Editor from print or online newspapers. These articles are "opinion pieces" and the authors may lack subject expertise.
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Use these reliable fact-checking and bias-checking websites for news articles and websites:

  • FactCheck.org (politics)

  • Snopes (urban legends, hoaxes, folklore, memes, and rumors)   

  • Climate Feedback (climate change)

  • MediaBias/Fact Check (analyzes news and other website bias and contains a list of questionable sources) 

  • AllSides (reviews how the same news story is covered across the political spectrum - from the left, the center, and the right).                                                                                       

Use the questions on the Questions to Ask When Determining Credibility of Sources handout to help you determine the credibility of websites. Check the information by comparing several websites on the same topic. Take a few facts from one article and confirm or disprove them with another credible source (Stebbins, 2015, pp. 22-23). Use the fact-checking websites on the News tab.

Useful tip: Government and military websites, whose URLs end in .gov, .mil, .state.us, or .state.gov, are credible sources of information. For more tips about using information from websites, watch the short NAU video below.

Stebbins, L.F. (2015). Finding Reliable Information Online. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

The list of legitimate science websites on the MediaBias/Fact Check list include How Stuff Works, National Geographic, Science News, and Smithsonian Magazine.

Unlike journal articles, scholarly books:

  • Are written on a broader, general subject
  • May contain a collection of related chapters by different authors
  • Contain less recent information

Remember: you may only need to read one chapter of a scholarly book!

How to find ebooks in OneSearch results:

  • At the top of the results page, click on All filters.
  • Click on the arrow by Source type and check eBooks.
  • Click on Apply filters.

How to find ebooks in the NAU Library databases:

In the left column of your search results page:

  • Limit by full text
  • Limit by source type - Books
  • Use the slide to limit by publication date

magazinesAlso known as "Scholarly Articles," "Peer-Reviewed Articles," or "Academic Articles," these are:

  • Written and reviewed by scholars and provide new research, analysis, or information about a specific topic.
    • "Review" means the article is approved by other experts before publication
  • Usually focused on a narrow subject or a single case study

  • Intended for an academic audience

OneSearch

OneSearch is an all-encompassing search engine for locating articles in journals and ebooks.

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Other Databases 

These databases contain articles and other materials not found through OneSearch.
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