Have you even stopped to think about exactly what you mean when you say you need “information” for a class paper or project? What exactly is information, and how do you know that the sources where you are getting your information are appropriate for college level work? If you have ever been stumped when trying to find the right information out of all the choices available, here are some tips to steer you in the right direction.
To get started, if you have a topic that you know nothing about, you should begin by getting some background information. The most common sources for background information are encyclopedias and dictionaries from the print and online reference collections. The library has a variety of these both on the shelves in the library and in databases such as CREDO Reference. CREDO Reference is an online collection of general and subject specific, full text reference books. It’s helpful in providing background information on a wide variety of topics. Another online database, Gale E-books for Colleges, consists of 18 electronic reference resources covering business, medicine, history, social science, and science. Your class textbooks also provide background information.
Another excellent source for background information on current topics of interest is the CQ Researcher database. A new report each week provides original, comprehensive reporting and analysis on an issue currently in the news. Each topic report also lists the pros & cons of a topic, which is helpful if you need to develop a point of view. The list of resources at the end of each report can be used to further research the topic. You can locate those articles yourself to get more information.
After getting familiar with your topic, you can get additional information from articles that are published in scholarly journals, trade journals, magazines, or newspapers. You can find access to tens of thousands of these thorough the databases available on the library website; go to http://www.newhaven.edu/library/databases. From there, select the subject list of databases so that you can choose a database in which the content matches the topic of your search. If you need to find peer-reviewed journal articles, use a database such as JSTOR or one that has the option to specifically limit your search to peer-reviewed journals.
If you need a more in-depth treatment of a topic, you are going to use books that are not reference books. Bear in mind when looking for information on an event that has happened recently, you will not find it in a book. Books take time to research and write. Search for the books that we have in the library by selecting Catalog-UNH from the library website. If you need a particular book that we don’t have, ask us to get it for you from another library. This is called an interlibrary loan. (But we can’t use interlibrary loan to get you class textbooks, you still need to buy those yourself.)
You are probably asking “why can’t I just Google it?” Everyone wants to use it because it’s quick and simple, and you can use Google to find other useful websites. The answer is, you cannot just grab any information from a Google search and use it to write your research papers without evaluating each and every source you want to use for credibility! Ask yourself these questions before using information from a website. Who wrote the article? Why are they an expert? Is the information on the page current? Does the website contain an identifiable bias? Is this organization’s website suitable or qualified to address the topic at hand? And what about Wikipedia? The fact is that anyone can edit or change any Wikipedia entry, which makes it unsuitable for academic research.
If you need more information about all of this, the UNH Librarians are happy to help you sort through it so that you can get the right information and write the best possible paper. We have workshops throughout the semester as well as guides that you can refer to anytime at http://libguides.newhaven.edu. And of course, you can always stop in the library to speak with a librarian or call us at 303-479-4554.
