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ENGR49580D: Technology, Society & Sustainability

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This guide provides help for Sheridan students completing their essay assignment for Technology, Society & Sustainability course. Find lists of resources in the library and on the web, search tips and contact information to get one-on-one support from your Liaison Librarian. 

Essay Assignment

Your essay assignment asks you to analyze a commercial or public infrastructure project or technologies through the lenses of social and environmental impacts, and sustainability. Check out the tabs on the left menu to locate environmental assessments, reports, studies and other resources that can help support your essay. 

Tips for Doing Research

As you get started on your research, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Start by brainstorming:

  • Review your assignment criteria. What topics are acceptable? How many sources do you need? What types of publications are acceptable?
  • Plan your Research. Decide on a topic, research question, and keywords.
  • Consider Types of Sources. What type of publications would have information about your topic? Books? Journals? Websites?
  • Choose a Database. Decide on the best place to look for sources on your topic.

Pay attention to the results:

  • Were there too many results? Too few?
  • Where did your keywords appear? What keywords did you use that are working? What keywords are confusing your results?
  • What vocabulary are the authors are using? Are there any new words that you could add to your list of keywords?

Modify your search strategy and search terms as needed.

Reflect on your search:

  • Did you find enough sources to meet your assignment requirements?
  • Were you satisfied with the relevance and quality of the sources you found?
  • What strategies worked well? What strategies were not helpful?

Be sure to Chat with Us if you are still struggling to find sources for your assignment.

If you're struggling to find useful results, try a few different search strategies.

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