ENG 2020 - True Crime Writing: Home

Coggle is a free online tool for concept mapping/webbing that can help you organize your thoughts digitally as you research historical and social context of the assigned novels. Select text to add hyperlinks to resources you've found about these topics.
Linking to library resources? Be sure to use the Permalink and not the dynamic URL.

Learn how to navigate and use library resources, including searching, citing, saving, and requesting materials.

Research Toolkit workshops are designed to address the most common challenges students face in doing college-level research, including navigating databases, locating relevant sources, and making sense of information once it is found.

Ask questions via chat, email, or schedule an appointment with your subject librarian.

Learn which librarian specializes in your area of research.

"Scholarly articles typically communicate original research or analysis for other researchers, and go through a peer review process before they are published by an academic journal. This brief video takes a closer look at that process and addresses some of its limitations."

For tips on using the ABCD method to evaluate websites, watch this video from the Cuyahoga Community College Libraries.

CRAAP is an acronym for a variety of questions you can ask yourself about whether you should use information. It stands for: Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy & Purpose. You should get in the habit of asking these types of questions about information before you use it.

Watch this brief video on for more information on evaluating sources using the CRAAP method.

Entry in The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America: An Encyclopedia

Reddit thread

New York Times Archive 1978

biography.com article

murderpedia.org entry

FBI / Freedom of Information Act

Serial Killers podcast episode 9 Ted Bundy Part 1, April 2, 2017

Serial Killers podcast episode 10 Ted Bundy Part 2, April 2, 2017

Netflix documentary

Variety magazine review of 2019 Joe Berlinger film with Zac Efron

Sample spreadsheet you can use to compare details from sources.

Other libraries will generally loan material that they circulate to their own patrons. Often excluded are: Textbooks, reference books, course reserve books, rare books, microfilm, dissertations, technical reports or audiovisual material. Individual issues or bound volumes of periodicals are rarely loaned.

Borrow from Ohio public libraries through SearchOhio.

Browse the subjects and find recommended databases.

General fact-checking website

Check out our full guide on fact checking strategies and techniques.

From their web site: "We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics."

From their web site: "We will seek to explain difficult issues, provide missing context and provide analysis and explanation of various “code words” used by politicians, diplomats and others to obscure or shade the truth."

From their web site: "PolitiFact is a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others who speak up in American politics."

A spin-off of PolitiFact, PunditFact checking the accuracy of claims by pundits, columnists, bloggers, political analysts, the hosts and guests of talk shows, and other members of the media.

Ballotpedia Staff evaluate claims made by politicians of all backgrounds and affiliations, subjecting them to the same objective and neutral examination process. The focus is always on the claim, not the individual.