College and university libraries have vast resources—thousands of books, magazines, journals, newspapers, and other print materials. The World Wide Web offers even more resources—millions of Websites offering an incredible array of information. Finding what you want requires skill, patience, and experience. The first step is to understand the terminology that researchers use:
Database – A collection of information (A telephone directory is a database.) Some printed databases are called "indexes."
CD-ROM – An electronic disk that stores information
Periodical – A publication that is sent out "periodically," such as a newsletter, newspaper, journal, or magazine. Many periodicals are printed on paper; others are published on the World Wide Web.
Journal – A periodical aimed for a professional audience.
Magazine – A periodical aimed for a popular audience
Full text – An uncut article or book
Abstract– (Sometimes called a "summary") A few sentences summarizing an article
Search engine – A computer program that uses key words to finds Websites about a particular topic
Hits – the results (often a list of books, articles, or Websites) of an electronic search
World Wide Web – the general name for the millions of linked electronic sites on the Internet
Which Resources Are Best?
As you become more experienced with research, you’ll see that every resource has both advantages and disadvantages. You’ll save time and get better results if you know which resources are most likely to have the information they want.
The World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a favorite of students because it’s so fascinating to explore, and it’s widely available. If you have access to a computer and a modem, you don’t have to visit the library to do research. Another attractive feature is the email address included on many Websites—a wonderful tool if you have questions or comments about a subject.
The biggest advantage of the Web is its quick access to up-to-date information. Almost anyone can publish on the Web with little investment in time and money (unlike traditional publishing, which is a slow and expensive process). Information can easily be updated. As a result, the Web teems with timely information.
But this advantage also creates huge risks for Web users. Because anyone can publish on the Web, there’s no system of accountability or quality control. A professional-looking Website may actually have been produced by a fifth-grade class or a lay person with no professional training in a complex field like medicine or history. Even worse, false information can quickly spread on the Web. One example is a false story claiming that Mel Gibson was once a disfigured unknown whose life was transformed by a sympathetic priest. Although the story is completely untrue, it was quickly circulated to millions of people via the Web.
A second problem with the Web is that it is not a systematic or organized body of knowledge. When you type keywords into a search engine, you are likely to get thousands of hits. It’s easy to get the impression that vast knowledge about your subject is available—an impression that is often false, for three reasons. First, much information from the past is unlikely to be published on the Web. It’s too expensive to transcribe already-printed books and articles onto Webpages: Most will continue to be available primarily in libraries. If you need in-depth information about something that happened in the past, you’ll probably use printed resources.
Second, the astronomical number of "hits" delivered by a search engine can be deceiving. Many Web pages will have only slight relevance to your subject.
A third problem is that distinguished writers are likely to continue to write printed books and articles rather than publishing on the Web—at least for a while. Printed publications have prestige, permanence, and portability. Over-reliance on the Web, therefore, can hurt you academically.
Traditional Books
Established publishers use a rigorous evaluation process to decide which books to print and sell. Once a book is published, it undergoes another rigorous process before libraries decide to buy it. One advantage that books have, therefore, is accountability—especially if they’re displayed on the shelves of a college library. Another advantage is in-depth coverage of a topic; books are likely to have far more information than you’ll find in most Websites.
And a third advantage is permanence. A Website can disappear at any time, but books last a long time. If you can’t find a book you want, your library can probably borrow it for you to use through an "interlibrary loan." (Be sure to allow a minimum of a week or two for the book to reach you.)
The advantages of the publication process can create problems, however. Because books are permanent, they can’t be updated: The whole book must be reprinted and reissued. The long lapse between writing and selling a book means that new information may be missing from even a brand-new publication. And the rigors of book publishing sometimes exclude worthwhile books. Even a high-quality book may never be published if it’s unlikely to make money.
Periodicals
Magazines, journals, newsletters, and newspapers offer the advantages of timeliness, accountability, and permanence. Well-known periodicals have staff members who carefully check information before it is printed. Like books, periodicals are a stable resource: Libraries store them in a variety of ways. On request, you can read either the original printed article or a full-text version on microfilm, microfiche, or CD-ROM. And the brevity of most periodicals can be another advantage. Topics that don’t warrant a whole book may be thoroughly covered in journals, magazines, and newspapers.
The sheer number of periodicals available in libraries can create problems: How can you find the articles that have exactly what you want to know? Experienced researchers use a "search strategy" to find what they want. The search strategy often begins with typing key words into a database. (Librarians can help you with this task, which students usually master quickly.) The database will give you a list of "hits"—articles about your topic.
The next step is to find the articles, which may be available in print or stored on a CD-ROM. If you think you’ll need older articles, your search strategy might begin with printed "indexes"—databases of older periodicals—where you’ll find titles and other information about articles that were printed before CD-ROMs became popular.
Many students waste time copying and printing articles that don’t have the information they want. It’s a good idea to read an abstract or summary of an article before you make a copy. For example, imagine that you’re researching the success rate of early marriages. An article comparing the legal age for marriage in various states is not going to be very helpful: You’d probably be wiser to skip it and look for something more relevant.
When you’re working with periodicals, it’s important to know the difference between popular magazines and professional journals. Popular magazines feature information aimed at a broad audience. For example, Time, Newsweek, Woman’s Day, and People reach tens of thousands of readers. Their vocabulary, content, and style aim to entertain and inform people who are looking for general information.
Professional journals, on the other hand, offer sophisticated, in-depth information for specialists. An AIDS breakthrough will be written up in general way, using everyday language, in a popular magazine. A medical journal, on the other hand, will offer statistics, a highly specialized vocabulary, and a great deal of scientific detail that most general readers wouldn’t understand well.
And there’s another important difference as well: Professional journals often use a peer review process when they’re deciding what to publish: A group of experts will evaluate a proposed article to determine its quality. General magazines don’t require the same rigor because they report information in a more general way.