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HOW TO FIND AUTHORITATIVE BACKGROUND ON ANY SUBJECT
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When you're doing research or looking for information on a
particular subject, it's a lot like a detective checking all his
possible clues.
The important thing is knowing who or where your sources are.
In almost all instances, your first move should be to your
encyclopaedia. If you don't have an up to date set, there's
always your public library.
Most of the time, an encyclopaedia will give you at least the
general facts about your subject.
You may have to check other sources for more detailed information
on the subject.
After you've selected a number of books for background
information, check the magazines either directly related to your
subject, or those carrying articles on the subject.
Most of the time, 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.
Under subject and author headings, the completed section of this
guide will list articles printed in magazines since the turn of
the century.
The Suggestions For Use section will instruct you how to read the
codes under each heading.
If you can't find the subject listed, think of similar subjects
that might be related.
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 particular field of study, there may
be a special index that will help you.
Among these special indexes, you'll find: Art Index, Business
Periodicals Index, Consumers Index, Education Index, 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 currently popular magazines.
You'll also find that most city newspapers are veritable gold
mines of reference material.
Most of the big city newspapers have computerised indexes.
Several of the special national newspapers such as The Times also
have reference indexes.
Without a doubt, the Times Index is the most complete.
In these newspaper indexes, subjects and people are listed
alphabetically with the date, page number, and usually with the
number of columns devoted to that particular story.
About all you have to do is avail yourself of this information is
to stop by the newspaper office, tell them the kind of information
you're looking for, and ask their help in locating it within their
index.
Facts on File is a world news digest that's found at most public
libraries.
This is a weekly publication that's broken down into four
categories: world Affairs, US Affairs, Other Nations and
Miscellaneous.
Editorials on File is a similar service that comes out twice a
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.
These cover banking and finance, industry and public services.
Most large public libraries also keep pamphlet files for brochures
from various information services and government agencies. Be
sure to ask about these.
Whenever you have a question or want more information on a
subject, always check first in the material that has been written
about it.
Public libraries and newspapers are free, and will definitely
point you in the right direction even if you don't know much about
sources.
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 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.
You should get the people you're talking with to discuss their
experiences relative to the subject.
Post 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 fun, exciting, and very informative. It will never be dull or
boring.
The important thing is to search out all the available sources,
and then to take 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
most 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 subject.
This is what learning is all about, regardless of the use you
eventually make of the information you gather.
The more you learn, the more you want to learn.
Curiosity about all things, and good, basic research, are the
prime requisites for any successful writer.
To have read about or experienced only a few aspects of a given
subject won't interest very many people.
What the people want is a thorough discussion of the subject from
as many different points of view as possible.
This, of course, requires research, and to do research, you have
to know where to find the material you want.
Hopefully, we've 'turned you on' with the idea that the
information you're interested in is available and virtually at
your fingertips.
All it takes is just a bit of effort on your part to avail
yourself of it.
Just remember, whatever has been thought of or dreamed of by man
since the beginning of time has been written about, and you can
learn about it with a reasonable amount of searching.