9.3: Locating Information

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The first part of research is asking good questions. Once you have an idea of what you are trying to answer then you can focus on what information you need and where to locate that information. Depending on your information needs, you may use different types of sources in your research.

Books:

Books can provide in-depth coverage of a topic. Books often include detailed information about the context of the topic and can help you provide background information. Many book authors have expertise in the field about which they are writing. The library has access to both print and e-books.

Journal Articles:

In many of your classes, your instructor will ask you to find scholarly articles. These articles are written by scholars who are publishing findings about their research and providing expert analysis. Because these sources are written for other scholars or researchers in the field, scholarly articles often include technical language and sometimes may be challenging to read. The articles always include in-text citations and a reference list of sources at the end of the article. Journal articles often are peer-reviewed, meaning the articles go through an extensive review process by other experts to ensure the research is sound. These articles are good resources to use when you are making a claim. For example, if you had the social media topic described above and wanted to argue that social media can lead to depression in teens, you might cite a research study proving girls who engage in social media are more likely to have self-esteem issues.

Watch the following video on how to determine if a source is “scholarly.” Video Sources [youtu.be]

Newspapers and Magazines:

These sources sometimes are referred to as “popular” sources. Popular sources provide information about current topics and events and could be used to provide examples in your research. The authors usually are not experts, and sources may not be cited. Because their purpose is to entertain as well as inform, popular sources often include lots of color, graphics and pictures.These sources also usually have numerous ads. You will want to evaluate these sources more closely to determine credibility.

Web Sources:

Web sources often can be helpful in your research. There are many government and educational websites that can offer a wealth of credible information including statistics and analysis. When searching for web sources, however, you also will come across many sources with misinformation and bias. Carefully evaluating web sources to ensure credibility is important.

Many of the resources above can be found in the HACC library databases. A library database is an online collection of electronic resources including journal articles, newspapers, magazines, videos and ebooks. The HACC library has several different databases, and many are focused on specific fields such as psychology or nursing. In the video below, you will learn strategies on how to search effectively using the library databases.

Watch the following video to learn how to use the HACC library databases: Video HACC Library Databases [youtu.be]