Today's Hours
Your textbook includes information on where and how you can identify potential resources for your speech through the library, the Internet and interviews. Ask yourself, “what do I know”; what do I think I know”; “how do I know what I know”? If you do not have a reliable source in mind as an answer to any of these questions, you will want to gather more background information before you proceed.
Now is as good a time as any in your academic career to get away from your first point of research being Google [or other search engine] or pseudo-reference sites such as Wikipedia. While these Internet tools have their place in the research process, you will be able to find thousands of accurate and respected resources from within the Internet-based resources in your Library. You will be evaluated, in part, on the credibility of your support resources. In addition to your textbook, your instructor and your librarian will offer you some guidelines to help you identify credible sources.
Since you are conducting research in an academic setting, it is expected that you will approach the research in a somewhat ‘scholarly’ way: you will begin with magazine, journal, and newspaper articles, or, better yet, acquire some background or overview information from general and/or subject-specific encyclopedias and handbooks. You will want to familiarize yourself with the online access points for access to these kinds of materials from the ISU Library’s web site. As you progress through the semester, you will expand upon your knowledge of how to find the better materials and your instructors will expect your supporting materials to get better and better. The Internet sites for government agencies, organizations, etc. will also provide you with legitimate information that includes statistics and background materials, as well as information in printable or downloadable brochures or pamphlets. Sometimes you will still acquire these materials in print as you visit people and places around town in order to personalize your research. If the topic you will present is one that has been of interest to you for some time, you may also have suitable materials available in your own personal files (class notes, articles, etc.) or in the books you have purchased for other courses.
Remember that regardless of the sources you use, they can help provide you with key ideas along with supporting evidence for your writing assignments. That is, as you read about your specific topic area, you may find information that helps you write your thesis, identify your main points, and discover supporting material. It is never to soon to begin researching a topic; sometimes starting with a vague idea and then just reading as many articles as you can find on a general topic will help you focus your final topic. Don’t rush to lock yourself into a very narrow area. Give yourself time to think and reflect as you read and explore. In other words, the process of developing your speech does not necessarily move along in a straight line as our model may seem to indicate at first glance; it may well double back upon itself. Effective researchers realize that they continue to refine their topic choice, specific purpose and thesis by way of research. Be alert to how you can refine your research process as you proceed; don’t get locked into a single way to approach your topic.
The Interlibrary Loan Department provides document delivery and interlibrary loan to distance education students. Interlibrary Loan will process these requests through a system called ILLiad.
First time users must register in the ILLiad system. A valid ISU ID card is required. Do this early before you actually need resources. Please REGISTER NOW.
For more information about ISU Library's Interlibrary Loan services, please view the Interlibrary Loan Tab.
