Are you writing a research paper on an unfamiliar topic? You may need some background first to help you understand important concepts and people connected to your topic before you can go further.

If you are looking for evidence to support an argument, you will want to find analytical or data sources. Perhaps you need just a few very current news stories or some reviews of a book, movie or product.

In any case, thinking first about what kind of information you need will help you with the first step of your research strategy -- deciding what types of information sources to use in order to get quickly the kind of information you need.

The following paragraphs discuss types of information sources in more detail and provide some online library and Web examples.

[NOTE: You must be affiliated with OSU or another OhioLINK school to connect to most of the online library sources used as examples in this tutorial. And if you use a commercial service provider, like AOL, to connect to the Internet, you must also set up your browser in a special way. Follow the Help link at the top of this page for more information.]

1B: Sources for Background Information

Background information sources offer overviews of topics, people, places, events. Encyclopedias, dictionaries and other reference works as well as Web sites can all provide background information.

Here are some online library sources that provide useful background information:

• Britannica Online - for background on almost any topic. [A free version of Britannica is also available.]

   

• Associations Unlimited - for overviews of non-profit organizations.

   

• Contemporary Authors - for background on fiction and non-fiction writers.

The Web is like a huge encyclopedia, but it's more difficult to find the information you need quickly on the Web. The Web is an especially good source for background information on businesses and organizations of all kinds.

• Use a Web index, such as HotBot, to search for an organization's Web site.

   

• Or look in a large Web directory like Yahoo!.

1C: Sources for In-Depth Analysis

Books, journal articles and reports all provide scholarly examinations of topics in-depth. Many excellent online library sources are available to help you find this kind of information.

For example:

• Library catalog - use OSU's online catalog OSCAR to search for books and reports, find out where journals are located.

   

• Periodical indexes - use periodical indexes to locate articles by subject. Here is a handy Subject Guide to Databases that will help you locate the right index to use. Many online periodical indexes also provide the full text of articles (so you can read them online).

   

• Online Journals - search online journal collections, such as the OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center (shown below) directly for articles that you can read online.

While the Web is not the first choice for finding scholarly analysis, many useful government and technical reports are available on the Web.

• Use a specialized Web index, such as Google / UncleSam to search government and military Web sites.

1D: Sources for News and Opinion

You can find news stories and opinion pieces (editorials, commentary or reviews) in newspapers and popular magazines as well as a wide variety of Web sites and Web news services.

Some online library sources include:

• Academic Universe (Lexis-Nexis) - excellent full text source of news articles from around the world.

   

• Book Review Digest - locate book reviews published in magazines.

The Web is an especially strong resource for keeping up with breaking news and finding alternative viewpoints.

• Use a directory, AJR Newslink - to locate online newspapers and magazines. Many of these have archives of past articles as well.

   

• Search in Yahoo! or Excite - both provide current news articles drawn from various sources.

   

• Use specialized Web review sources like the Internet Movie Database or search in a Web index to find reviews.

   

• Read Zines - for interesting alternative content.

1E: Sources for Facts and Statistics

Facts and statistical data are published in encyclopedias, handbooks, government publications, and in articles.

Some online library resources for factual information are:

• A Matter of Fact - for statistics drawn from government reports, magazine and news articles, as shown in the illustration below.
  

   

• STAT-USA - for business and trade data from the U.S. government.

   

• Britannica Online - for facts on almost any topic. [A free version of Britannica is also available.]

The Web is also an excellent resource for facts and data. Use:

• FedStats - to locate a wealth of population, demographic, economic, agricultural and health data. Data often appears here before it becomes available in print.

   

• Data on the Net - to locate other good sources.

1F: Sources for Multimedia

Multimedia sources include images, animations, video and sounds.

Some online library resources for locating multimedia include:

• OSCAR - to find photo collections, sound and video recordings owned by the Libraries. You can LIMIT a search to audiovisuals.

   

• AP Photo Archive - to view photographic images from the Associated Press collection. These can be used in your research projects.

   

• OhioLINK Digital Media Center - collections of art and architecture images commonly used in college courses.

The Web is a great source for finding multimedia:

• Use search tools such as HotBot or Lycos Multimedia Search. Both allow you to search for various multimedia formats.

   

• Many museums are now starting to offer image collections on the Web. One good example is the ImageBase from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.