What will you write about? Even if your professor has assigned you a general topic, you are usually expected to narrow the topic. How do you explore sources related to your topic? Much depends on your topic. If your topic is a current issue or problem, you will probably have better results if you start by exploring
the Web. If, on the other hand, your topic is part of an established academic discipline—history, anthropology, or sociology, for instance—you may be expected to locate standard library sources, such as books and periodical
articles.
You need to decide
what the best approach is for you. Below are some general suggestions to
help you get started.
If your topic
is a current issue, then begin with the Web.
- Browse through subject
directories organized by discipline or area of study such as the following:
- Use search
tools to locate preliminary readings on your topic. Two search tools
especially good for browsing are Yahoo
and Infoseek , which allow you to
explore subject categories if you do not want to do a direct search.
- Use Web resources
to generate ideas. See the suggestions provided in "Digital
Dialogue: Networking as an Invention Strategy."
If your topic is
part of an established discipline, then begin with library research.
Some professors require
that research papers be based on academic sources—journals published by
professional organizations and established presses or library books. Although
there are some academic journals on the Web, in most cases your research
will need to begin in the periodicals indexes or library books available
to you in your campus library. Most schools now subscribe to at least some
online indexes. Check to see what your library has available.
If you want to find out what other libraries have
on your topic, you can access most libraries in the world through the links
below. (Find out if you can order books through your school's Interlibrary
Loan program.)
WebCATS:
Library Catalogues on the World Wide Web
The Library of Congress
The New York Public Library
The
Berkeley Public Library
If
your topic could be researched in either the library or on the Web, explore both at
the outset.
As you search, note
differences between the results you get in the library and the results
from the Web. Compare results with other students in your class. Whether
you start with the library or the Web depends primarily on the topic and
on the resources of your institution's library.
