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.
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