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HOW TO FIND AN AUTHORITATIVE BACKGROUND ON ANY SUBJECTWhen you're looking for information on a particular subject, it's a lot like a detective checking all his possible clues. The most important point is knowing who or where are your sources. If you can compile a list of sources from which to glean the information, you can discover almost all you need to know on any given topic. The information is available. What you need to know is how to access it. For most topics you are investigating, your first step should be to check the encyclopedia. If you don't have an up-to-date set of your own, visit the public library or a local university library. Most of the time, an encyclopedia will give you at least the general facts about your subject. Many will include a basic bibliography of other books or articles that can provide more in-depth information. Next, compile a list of books that have been written on the subject. The subject and title sections of the card catalog or computer catalog in most public libraries will give you plenty of listings. After you've selected a number of books for background information, check for periodicals (magazines, journals, newsletters, etc.) with information related to your topic. You'll find that magazines will provide you with more up-to-date and timely information than books. To check out information on your subject in magazines, look in the Reader's Guide To Periodical Literature. Arranged by year of publication, the Reader's Guide lists articles by subject and author headings. The complete collection of this guide includes most articles printed in the majority of widely-read magazines since the turn of the century. The Suggestions For Use section will instruct you on how to read the codes under each heading. If you can't find your subject listed, think of similar subjects that might be related. If your subject is part of a specific field of study, there may be a special index that will help you. Among these special indexes, you'll find the Art Index, Business Periodicals Index, Consumers Index, Education Humanities Index, Social Sciences Index, Biological and Agricultural Index, and Applied Sciences and Technology Index . You'll even find a Popular Periodicals Index which lists articles that have appeared in current popular and special topic magazines. You'll discover that most newspapers are veritable gold mines of reference material. Most of the big city newspapers have computerized indexes. Several of the special national newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal also have reference indexes. Without a doubt, the New York Times Index is the most complete. In newspaper indexes, subjects and people are listed alphabetically with the date, page number, and usually with the number of columns devoted to the story. About all you have to do to avail yourself of this information is to stop by your local newspaper office, tell them the kind of information you're looking for, and ask their help in locating it within their index. Large newspapers such as the New York Times and Washington Post are available on microfilm at your local public library. Ask your librarian for help in locating and viewing these materials. Facts on File is a world news digest that's found at most public libraries. This is a weekly publication, broken down into four categories: World Affairs, U.S. Affairs, Other Nations, and Miscellaneous. Editorials on File is a similar service that comes out twice each month. It is a survey of newspaper editorials that span a wide range of subjects. If you want to know about business trends, you should ask for and look at the Moody's Reports. This series covers banking and finance, industry, and public utilities. Most large public libraries also keep pamphlets, brochures, short articles, clippings, and maps from various information services and government agencies. Usually referred to the Vertical File, these materials are accessed through the reference librarian. Be sure to ask about these helpful files. Whenever you have a question or want more information on a subject, always check first in the material that has been written on the topic. Public libraries and newspapers are free, and will point you in the right direction even if you don't know much about sources. If you are in need of a book or article that is not in your library's collection, the library can obtain it for you free or at a small charge through the Inter-Library Loan System. This network helps libraries across the United States and Canada exchange needed material for patrons doing research. Ask your librarian about utilizing this fantastic service. One of the best sources of information is people. Ask around, and more often than not you'll find someone right in your own area who is well versed on your subject. An introductory phone call and an explanation as to why you're researching the subject will almost always lead you to many people who'll be glad to talk with you. Interviewing and talking with people will give you the chance to ask questions and hear specific explanations about the details that may not be fully covered in a book, newspaper article, or other publication. When interviewing, your questions should be open-ended--in other words, questions which do not allow for a simple yes or no answer. You should get the people you're talking with to discuss their experiences relative to the subject. Pose hypothetical situations, asking what they would do or what would happen under a given set of circumstances. Researching and gathering information on a particular subject can be exciting and informative. It will never be dull or boring. Search out all the available sources and take full advantage of them. From there, you'll find it's very much like putting a jigsaw puzzle together--the closer you get to completing the picture, the more excited you become. Many people find that when they begin a research project on a specific subject, they quickly uncover so many interesting related subjects that it's hard to confine their enthusiasm to just the one topic. This is the essence of learning, regardless of the use you eventually make of the information you gather. The more you learn, the greater your desire to know still more. Let that curiosity work for you. Many topics are connected in ways you've never considered. Once you begin to research a given topic, you'll often find that it relates in some fashion to a topic you considered yesterday or a year ago. Perhaps a portion of your earlier research could be incorporated into your present study. Curiosity about all things, and the taking of the first few basic research steps are the prime requisites for any successful writer To have read about or experienced only a few aspects of a given subject and then to write from that perspective won't interest very many readers. Readers want a thorough discussion of the subject from as many different points of view as possible. This requires thorough research on your part. To do that research you must know where to find the material you want. This report has pointed you in the right direction. Be assured that the information you need is available virtually at your fingertips. All it takes is a bit of effort on your part to avail yourself of it. Remember: no matter what the topic, whatever has been thought of or dreamed of by man since the beginning of time has been put down in writing. You
can learn about it with a reasonable amount of searching. We wish you the best of luck
with your research. Enjoy that time of discovery. |
