Types of sources for your position papers
There is a question about what type of sources are mandatory for the position paper. While I don’t require any particular number of sources be books or what-not, it is good to use sources that force you to actually flip some pages. Publication generally ramps up the respectability of the source, although there can be extreme exemptions (it is up to you to determine any bias).
The reason for not having this requirement is simply this; these issues are still mostly academic, and there aren’t very many concrete case studies out there. Some of the information you need cannot be found in public libraries, and while it doesn’t hurt to look, if you have to pay to use a certain journal, I’d rather you use an online source. However, a paper relying solely on online sources, especially those of poor reputation, will be looked upon unfavorably compared to one using a variety of sources.
- Bryan
p.s.: if you can get access to a University library (UC, Cal State, a local junior college like Stanford, if you’re desperate 
), that is probably the best place to go to.
p.p.s.: Wikipedia will not be valid as a source, but it is a good place to go to look for other sources.