Overcoming Challenges in Gathering Information
"Researching from a Variety of Source Types"
By Julia Johns, SVP of Development
To make it easier for you, as a researcher, to reference a variety of source types, this article pinpoints the technical challenges associated with using the major source types and provides you with tips to overcome them.
MAGAZINES & NEWSPAPERS
Common Challenge - Knowing which magazine/newspaper and which issue will have relevant information
Remedy
To avoid the inefficiency of skimming through magazines at random, ask a librarian for advice about which magazines or newspapers are most likely to have the type of information you are seeking. Once you know which publication may be helpful to you, then you can visit its website to acquire relevant stories. To read the articles, you might have to buy back issues or register for the website. Some periodical's websites let you view a table of contents for past issues or search their issue archives. Alternatively, you can make a list of the articles you would like to read and see if a library can locate a copy of the issue free of cost.
FILMS
Common Challenge - Operating the VCR/DVD machine buttons to find crucial spots in the film and deciphering the precise words being spoken
Remedy
Because replaying films over and over again can be frustrating, with the cumbersome operating buttons that accompany VCRs and DVD players, you might find it helpful to refer to the film's script. Many movie scripts are available online at such places as the Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb). Movie scripts enable you to quote the speakers with greater accuracy and you can mark up the script with your insights and comments. You might even consider having the movie script in hand when you watch the movie so you can document your insights next to the scenes as they transpire in front of you. The movie script is intended as a supplement, not a replacement, to the film. The actual film can still be helpful because you may gain more insights from observing the speakers'/actors' emotions, body language, and the overall scene.
BOOKS
Common Challenge - Finding information that is relevant to your specific research question
While a library may have many books related to your research question's topic, only a few of those books may contain information that you can readily apply to your thesis.
Remedies
When faced with multiple books that could potentially contribute to your thesis discussion, scan the listings in both the table of contents and the index for relevant issues in the index.
Once you have found a few helpful books, examine their bibliographies for names of books that contributed the valuable information to those books. Track down the books by searching the library's catalog or amazon.com.\ If you can acquire the books efficiently, you can see if the books have even more useful facts, figures, and philosophies for you to investigate. Reading books that other authors have referenced in their work can provide you with more reasons to agree or disagree with those authors' opinions.
WEBSITES
Common Challenge - Evaluating the site's credibility
Remedy
There are actually many ways to verify a website's credibility. You can, for instance, e-mail the site author and ask questions about his/her expertise, choose sites with reputable and non-commercial domains (especially those ending in .edu, .org, and .gov), and examine the sources cited on the website to check the credibility of their sources. Also, challenge the information provided on the site to distinguish statements as fact, generalization, well-supported opinions, or poorly supported opinions.
Common Challenge - Using the search engine effectively to find useful websites
Remedy
Learn the search techniques that will maximize the relevance of your search results on your chosen search engine. The technique you usually use on Google may not work when searching an academic database.
If you would prefer not to use a search engine, you can still make use of the Internet's website directories. In online directories (e.g. dmoz.org) you can navigate through a series of links organized by categories and subcategories of sites that have been recommended and rated by the directories' editors and users.
