Gathering Expertise in Your Subject Area

Wikipedia

Encyclopedias represent what is known on a subject. Whereas one does not cite encyclopedias in college-level work, you should reach an understanding of what is commonly known on your subject. Encyclopedias in general, and Wikipedia specifically, will do this. If you find useful information that is cited in an article, go to that original article and read it. Then you can cite that article. Don’t cite Wikipedia – learn from it. See  http://www.wikipedia.org/

Google News

Search Google News for the latest news articles about your subject.  See  http://news.google.com/

Google Alerts

Use Google Alerts to receive news articles in your email.  See https://www.google.com/alerts

US Government Resources

Search federal and state government websites. Add your state to the search to get more specific to your intended audience. See: http://www.usa.gov/

Data.gov

“The home of the U.S. Government’s open data.”

According to the Website: “Here you will find data, tools, and resources to conduct research, develop web and mobile applications, design data visualizations, and more.” See:  https://www.data.gov/