|
Whether your topic has been assigned or you are being asked to
choose the topic yourself, it is a good idea to begin a writing assignment
by doing some background research on the general topic.
Your library will have listings for research sources that are available to you.
Below we have listed some ideas for places to look for information
on your general research subject.
Background Research Sources
- The broad perspective: Encyclopedias, topical dictionaries, and scholarly books
- Encyclopedias and dictionaries.
There are a number of "broad perspective" types of sources that
can give you succinct overviews of a subject from which you can find ideas for your topic.
- Wikipedia , a free online encyclopedia.
- Encyclopedia.com , another free online encyclopedia.
- Dictionary.com, a standard online dictionary (free).
- Topical dictionaries and reference books.
You might want to note, as well, that there are many topical dictionaries
for different areas (law, sociology, psychology) that you can locate at
the libary (most of these types of sources are not available for free on the internet).
- Scholarly books, monographs, and published studies.
Experts in particular fields often publish studies for other researchers and
students that present overviews of information and materials available
on a particular subject. These important books draw on many other published
materials to present a synthesis of a field or to provide a new viewpoint. Scholarly
books often provide extensive bibliographies that you can use to build a
reading list for your paper. Sometimes you may even be able to find a book that is
just a bibliography for your subject. There are a number of searchable sites on
the internet where you can locate these types of materials:
- Other sources for statistics, facts, and data:
Almanacs, Statistical collections, biographical dictionaries, directories of companies
and organizations, US census, and opinion polls. Many of these types of sources are
available at
The Internet Public Library,
infoplease.com and
refdesk.com -- but there are also
probably materials provided through your school library's web site.
- Current information: Articles in journals and other periodicals
For most long research papers you will need the kind of timely, focused, and detailed information
that is typical of articles published in periodicals. Periodicals include magazines, journals, and
newspapers that are published "periodically" (weekly, monthly, bimonthly, annually) or in different
intervals throughout the year.
Periodical articles can help your discussion by providing you with up-to-date details, and focused
discussion. The trick is to find those articles that pertain specifically to the topic you have chosen.
As with other resources, many library web sites provide searchable indices of articles. There
are also a number of sites on the web that provide this sort of information:
Your school libary will have access to additional journal article indices.
- Additional types of publications that you might consider using as research materials.
- Reports from private research foundations and institutes.
- Conference proceedings.
- Theses and Dissertations.
- Government documents.
- About using sources published on the internet
The Internet can be useful for finding current information not available in books and articles. It is particularly useful for finding
news and current events, government information (including state, national and international statistics), information on educational institutions, companies, and non-profit organizations.
When you use sources that are web pages, however, be careful to spend a bit of
time evaluating the source (e.g., what qualifies the author as an expert? is the online journal peer-reviewed, or more like a blog?, etc.).
And ALWAYS save a copy of the web page on your computer.
|
