Finding sources for research can be extremely difficult in some instances, but it can be very easy in others. In my experience, it often comes down to simple common sense. Nothing more and nothing less, and I think that's a lot of what chapter 5 of Envision looks at.
A couple of the biggest terms to know while doing research has always been the distinction between primary and secondary sources. Historians love primary sources. That's because they like to writer their own reactions to a document from a given time period. Essentially, historians' reactions to original documents are secondary sources.
Another large part of Chapter 5 of Envision focused on one's ability to evaluate the credibility/usability of a given source. In this case, I'm glad that we did our rhetorical analysis before doing any research; because that's essentially what a rhetorical analysis truly is. By evaluating an article before diving into research, we're able to get valuable practice and experience while we move forward.
Chapter 5 was a nice review for me. I've had plenty of experience finding sources through my academic career; so, there wasn't much new in the chapter that I've never seen before, but it gave me the opportunity to re-examine strategies that I haven't used in some time.
This chapter also gave me some new ideas about where to look for resources. For example, I find that I usually use online resources such as Ball State's online library site or J-Store. While these are good sources of information, other sources, such as books, are often more credible sources.
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