25 Websites for Student Researchers and News Hounds

Published May 20, 2008

RSS Feed

The right websites can make a writer's job a lot easier. Here are 25 useful sites for research papers and news stories.

websites

1. Research Papers

  • Ref Desk - This award-winning reference site offers a virtual encyclopedia, periodicals, an online newspaper, search engines, calculators, converters, world clocks and much more.
  • Encyclopedia.com - Free online encyclopedia includes a dictionary and millions of newspaper and magazine articles.
  • Library of Congress - A digital collection of books, manuscripts, letters, photos and other printed materials.
  • World Digital Library - A digital, multilingual collection of manuscripts, rare books, recordings, films, prints, photographs and maps from around the world.
  • Bartleby.com - Comprehensive public library that publishes reference materials and non-fiction books.

2. Writing Reference Sites

  • OWL - Online writing lab from Purdue Global.
  • News University - Free training and resources for journalists.
  • Guide to Grammar and Writing - Comprehensive grammar guide from the Capital Community College Foundation.
  • Spark Notes - An online guide to grammar from Spark Notes.
  • Merriam-Webster - The best dictionary and thesaurus on the web.

3. New Sources

  • The Associated Press - Global news network with round the clock reports.
  • CNN - Popular news site that is updated constantly by both U.S. and global reporters.
  • Digg - Links to a mish-mash of user submitted news stories, videos and photos.
  • Wired.com - Daily news and original reports on business, entertainment, politics, culture, science and art.
  • The Way Back Machine - Amazing search engine that boasts 85 billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago.

4. Web Apps

  • Clipmarks - Web app that lets you clip and share content from web pages.
  • BibMe - Web app that automatically creates a bibliography for you in MLA, APA, Chicago and Turabian formats.
  • ThinkFold - Brainstorming and outlining tool that allows you to collaborate online in real time.
  • Toodledo - Online project management tool.
  • Jott - Web app that converts your voice into text.

5. Miscellaneous

  • Google Docs - Create, upload, edit, and access your work from any computer in the world.
  • Media Bistro - Journalism site with forums, education resources, job listings and more.
  • ChaCha - Human-powered search engine provides you with real people to answer your questions.
  • Del.icio.us - Organize and tag your bookmarks.
  • Wikipedia - A good starting point for information.

Featured School Choices: