Answer the questions

CHAPTER #7 – GATHERING MATERIALS

There are 3 methods of researching materials for your particular topic: doing library research, searching the internet or interviewing an individual.

DOING LIBRARY RESEARCH

There are 5 important resources for finding what you need in the library.

1. The librarian – experts in their field, trained in library use and research materials. Don’t be afraid to ask for their help or locate materials from outside library sources.

2. The catalogue – a listing of all the various books, periodicals and other sources owned by the library. If it isn’t in the catalogue, the library doesn’t possess it.

The CALL NUMBER is a number used in the library to classify books and periodicals and to indicate where they can be found on the library shelf. It’s the white tab found on the side binding of the library book.

3. Periodical database – a research aid that catalogues articles from a large number of journals or magazines. If you key in ‘glacial warming’ only articles concerning this topic will appear.

Most data bases provide an abstract that summarizes the content of each article. An ABSTRACT is a summary of a magazine or journal article written by someone other than the original author and consequently not a bonafide quotation source. You must delve into the actual article.

The libraries general database covers a wide range of subject materials such as Sports Illustrated, Time, National Geographic, Consumer Reports magazines. Some professional schools such as medical, law, dental, business schools often have their own special databases.

4. Newspapers – All libraries have current daily copies of many local and national newspaper publications.

5. Reference Works – works that incorporate a large amount of related information for easy access.

a. General Encyclopedia – a comprehensive reference work that provides information about all branches of human knowledge. Encyclopedia Britannica

b. Special Encyclopedia – a comprehensive reference work devoted to a specific subject area such as religion, law, science, music, philosophy.

c. Yearbook – reference work published annually containing statistics, facts and figures from the previous year (death rate, mean national income, sports records, etc.)

d. Dictionaries

e. Quotation Books – Bartlett’s contains over 25,000 familiar quotes.

f. Biographical Aid – contains brief life and career facts about living contemporary men and women.

SEARCHING THE INTERNET

Use the internet to supplement not replace library research. Use a search aid versus ‘surfing’ the internet. A SEARCH AID is a program used to find information on the worldwide web. Specifically, utilize a SEARCH ENGINE which is a search aid that indexes web pages and checks them for sites that match a researcher’s request. The two largest sites are Google and Yahoo. Utilize quotation marks when conducting a topic search on the internet. This should significantly narrow down your search effort. When evaluating internet documents make sure the author is clearly identified, the data is unbiased or neutral and always be sure to cite your internet source.

INTERVIEWING A PERSON

A Research interview is an interview conducted to gather information about a speech. Always attempt to interview an expert in their field.

Five simple steps to ensure a successful interview:

1. Define the purpose of the interview – interview someone knowledgeable about the topic.

2. Decide whom to interview

3. Arrange the time and place of the interview

4. If possible record the interview or take accurate notes avoiding misquoting a person

5. Prepare intelligent, sensible and meaningful questions