EVEN BETTER THAN THE WEB
The internet is a great place to go for research, because it's so chock full of information. Then again, the internet is also a terrible place to go for research, because it's so chock full of information.
Sometimes it's hard to sort through the mounds of information on the internet. Even armed with ways to test for credibility, you may find that you have to branch out. In these cases, you'll want to know the following:
How to get to your local library.
How to conduct primary research.
We'll talk about both in this lesson. Actually, getting to your local library is sort of up to you. (If you have no idea, then Google Maps can help you. If you don't know how to use Google Maps…well, then probably no one can help you.)
We will talk about resources to look for once you're there, though.
A VISIT TO THE LIBRARY
Books, magazines, and academic journals are excellent resources, but just because something appears in print doesn't mean it's infallible. You should evaluate print resources in a similar way to internet resources.
Use the four main categories—remember what they are? Let's do a quick review:
Authority
Currency
Objectivity
Support
Online databases and catalogs are a great place to start. Sometimes you can even find the full text of a print resource online. (These resources are technically not internet resources, because they were originally published in print.)
Occasionally you'll get lucky and find the full text of this kind of resource just by doing a simple internet search. But more often, you'll find references to print resources, excerpts, or possibly abstracts (which are short summaries of an article). To get your hands on the real thing, you may need to go a little farther. You may need to go to…
…the library.
If you haven't yet been convinced that public libraries are some of the best places on Earth, then take it from us; public libraries are some of the best places on Earth.
Here's a quick rundown on resources to consult at your local library—or any library, really. We don't care if it's local or not. It's still awesome.
Library catalog: Check the library's online catalog to find lists of books and periodicals that the library actually has in its collection.
Online databases: Go to a computer at any library, and you'll find you're given free access to otherwise-pricey databases that hold online versions of full-text articles from print sources like newspapers, scholarly journals, legal publications, encyclopedias, and more.
The usefulness of these databases cannot be overstated. While a library can only hold so many hard copies of books and periodicals, databases hold a seemingly endless amount of electronic versions of the same. LexisNexis and EBSCO are two very common databases, but there are more. Lots more. Go find them.Actual human librarian: Approach a live human person—preferably one who's sitting behind a counter that says "Customer Service" or "Reference." Tell that person what you're looking for and he or she will actually help you find it. They will actually go out of their way to help you. It's kind of incredible.
If you simply cannot leave your house, there are excellent online databases that you can get to from home without having to purchase a subscription. Here are two examples—click on the links to read more about them:
DIY
Using other people's research is good for lots of reasons: for one, it's a real time-saver. It's also a good way to make sure you're getting information from people who know more about a subject than you do.
But sometimes primary research is necessary: meaning you're the one who goes out and collects data, or talks to some expert, or observes something firsthand.
There are a lot of ways to conduct primary research and lots of things you should know before you start. Let's visit Purdue's Online Writing Lab for a rundown.
Read the following pages:
Doesn't it sound cool to "triangulate" data? So much better than saying "find at least three sources that say about the same thing." Thanks, OWL.
Don't Forget to Cite
Of course, no matter where you got a piece of information, it's absolutely crucial that you make it clear to your audience where it came from.
We already talked about plagiarism and the proper way to cite information in the first unit of this course, so we won't rehash it all here. But we can't talk about conducting research for this long without at least including a reminder.
So here's our reminder:
Cite your sources. Don't plagiarize.
No really; don't.