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Chapter 7
What Other Sources Can I Use for My Research Paper?
Research is the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under your observation in life.
MARCUS AURELIUS
As you learned in Chapter 6, books are often an excellent source of material for your research paper. However, books have a number of important drawbacks when it comes to research:
• They may not be timely. Since it can take more than a year to write, edit, and publish a book, the information it contains may be out of date by the time the book appears on the library shelf. This is especially true in fast-changing areas such as medical issues and current events.
• Books are so costly that some libraries are cutting back on their purchases, putting their funds instead into on-line sources. As a result, you may not be able to get the books you need easily.
• It can take a long time to sift through a book to find the information you need. You may have to do a lot of reading to find the nugget you need.
• Books are cumbersome and heavy.

 

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Therefore, in addition to books, you're probably going to use articles from magazines, newspapers, and journals to find information for your research paper. In some cases, you'll use far more articles than books. In this chapter, you'll learn how to find magazines, newspapers, and journals as well as interviews, media, and audio-visual sources.
Periodicals
Petiodicals include all material that is published on a regular schedule—weekly, biweekly, monthly, bimonthly, four times a year, and so on. Newspapers, magazines, and journals are classified as periodicals.
Print Indexes
Traditionally, every periodical was indexed in one or more print indexes. To find the magazines you needed, you looked in the appropriate print index.
Example:
To find an article in a ''popular'' magazine such as Time, Mademoiselle, Atlantic, Sports Illustrated, or Road and Track, look in the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature. This guide, with its distinctive green cover, indexes over 100 "popular" magazines.
Follow the same procedure if you want to find newspaper articles: Check a newspaper index, such as The New York Times Index, a thick red book. The same is true for scholarly articles. Since print indexes are usually issued annually, they list the publications for a single year. To investigate what has been published over a number of years, you have to search several volumes.
A periodical index does not give you the actual article. Instead, it lists the issue of the periodical that contains the article. To get the actual article, you have to jot down the bibliographic citation, ask a clerk to retrieve the magazine, and then read it. If the magazine is on microfilm or microfiche, you have to place it in a reader and, if you wish, make a photocopy of it. Increasingly many magazines are available on-line. This makes retrieval even easier.

 

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Computerized Databases
Increasingly, libraries have been using computerized databases in place of print indexes. A computerized database is a bibliographic computer file of reference sources. Some databases include only periodicals; others include books, media, and even telephone numbers! No matter what information is indexed, each entry provides the title, author, and sometimes a summary.
The computer often prints the citation for you. In some cases, you can get the computer to download the entire article for you. This is the so-called full-text feature.
Every library has different periodical databases. Here are some of the ones you are likely to find:
• DataTimes is an on-line index to local newspapers.
• DIALOG is an extensive, well regarded database.
• InfoTrak lists more than 1,000 business, technological, and general-interest periodicals, as well as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Many are full-text.
• LEXIS/NEXIS affords access to thousands of full-text articles.
• MILCS is a database of all the holdings of academic and public libraries in specific regions.
• OCLC First Search lists all the periodicals, media, and books in the United States and Canada. It has many indexes.
• VU/TEXT is a newspaper database.
• WILSONSEARCH is an on-line information system containing the Wilson databases not on CD-ROM.
Example:
It contains the Education Index and the Index to Legal Periodicals.
In addition, many libraries carry their periodical indexes on CD-ROM. CD-ROM indexes usually cover several years of publication, making them more comprehensive than a single print volume of an index.

 

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• WILSONDISC, for example, is a series of six databases on CD-ROM that you can easily search on your own. The six databases are:
Applied Science and Technology Index.
Business Periodicals Index.
General Science Index.
Humanities Index.
Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature.
Social Science Index.
• ERIC is an education index on CD-ROM. It can search for articles and books by subject or keyword.
You use the same search strategy with on-line and CD-ROM databases as you do with a print index: Use key words, title, author, or any combination of these.
Be Complete
While more and more libraries are replacing their print indexes with on-line and CD-ROM sources, many libraries still maintain their print indexes. In addition, the CD-ROM or on-line databases may not go back far enough for the sources you need. This is especially true if you are doing historical or literary research. As a result, to do a complete search for materials, you must use everything that pertains to your topic. This often means using both print and on-line indexes.
Warning!
Be sure the index you're searching lists the kind of sources you want. Otherwise, it might appear that library doesn't have any material on your topic if you're in the wrong index.
Example:
In the Humanities Index you would probably not find any articles on stock mutual funds. For this topic, you should check the Business Index.

 

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Interviews and Surveys
Although you'll probably conduct most of your research in the library, remember that you can find a great deal of material in laboratories, in courthouses, and in private archives. Consider the possibility of conducting original research for your own paper. You can do this by interviewing knowledgeable people and by devising and distributing questionnaires.
Interviews
Interviews allow you to conduct primary research and acquire valuable information unavailable in print and online sources. By including quotations from people who have direct knowledge of a subject, you add considerable authority and immediacy to your paper. You can conduct interviews by telephone, by e-mail, or in person.
Whom should you interview? Include only respected people in the field, such as noted experts, recognized authorities, and credentialed professionals. Don't waste your time with cranks and people with private agendas.
Also:
• Call and confirm the interview.
• Prepare a series of questions well in advance of the interview. The questions should all focus on your topic and the person's recognized area of expertise.
• After the interview, write a note thanking the person for his or her time.
• Get the person's permission beforehand if you decide to tape-record the interview.
• Obtain a signed release for the right to use their remarks on the record.
Surveys
Surveys are useful when you want to measure the behavior or attitudes of a fairly large group. On the basis of the responses, you can draw some conclusions. Such generalizations are usually made in quantitative terms.

 

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Example:
Fewer than one-third of the respondents said that they favored further governmental funding for schools.
If you decide to create a survey, follow these guidelines:
• Be sure to get a large enough sampling to make your results fair and unbiased. Include at least fifty people, but this is one instance where more is better!
• Don't ask loaded questions that lead people toward a specific response. Be sure your questions are neutral and unbiased.
• To get honest answers to your questions, it is essential to guarantee your respondents' anonymity. Written surveys are best for this purpose.
• Make the form simple and easy. Few people are willing to take the time to fill out a long, complex form.
• Carefully tabulate your results. Check your math.
In addition, many topics have been extensively discussed by experts on respected television news programs and documentaries. It is often possible to write to the television station and obtain printed transcripts of the programs. You might also be able to videotape the programs or borrow copies of the programs that have already been recorded.
Audiovisual Sources
In addition, you may be able to use audiovisual sources for your research paper. These include:
• Records.
• Audio cassettes.
• Video tapes.
• Slides.
• Photographs.
You can often borrow audiovisual materials from your library as you would books, magazines, and other print sources.

 

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Other Sources of Information
You're not done yet! The library has even more sources for you to consider. These include government documents, pamphlets, and special collections.
Government Documents
Who's the largest publisher in the United States? It's the federal government! The government publishes numerous pamphlets, reports, catalogs, and newsletters on most issues of national concern. Government documents are often excellent research sources because they tend to be factual and unbiased. To find government documents, try these CD-ROM and on-line indexes:
• Monthly Catalogue of the United States Government Publications
• United States Government Publications Index
Many government offices have extensive on-line sites where you can download an astonishing treasure of information, including the full text of many documents and research papers. Some of these sites are listed in the almanac; others are available through search engines and key words.
Pamphlets
Pamphlets published by private organizations and government agencies are another reference source. Since pamphlets are usually too small to place on the shelves, they are stored in the vertical file. This is just what the name implies: a filing cabinet with pamphlets arranged in files. The Vertical File Index: A Subject and Title Index to Selected Pamphlet Material lists many of the available titles. In addition, you can simply browse in the vertical file under your topic.
Special Collections
Many libraries also have special collections of rare books, manuscripts, newspapers, magazines, photographs, maps, and items of local interest. These are stored in a

 

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special room or section of the library. Often you need permission to access these materials.
This chapter covered all the nonbook reference materials available: periodicals, interviews, surveys, audiovisual information, government documents, pamphlets, and special collections. Chapter 8 teaches you how to use electronic media. You're going to really enjoy this!

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