You will find information in different kinds of publications, places, and resources. Here are some of the main kinds of information sources you will use:
Books and eBooks
Provide broad, foundational coverage of a topic, usually with an in-depth analysis.This might include textbooks, more-detailed monographs.
Reference Sources, Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Handbooks
Offer introductory overviews. You can find background information to help you select a topic and place it in the broader context of the discipline.
Journals
These are periodicals regularly published
Scholarly Peer-Reviewed Articles
Contain articles written and reviewed by experts in the discipline. Topics are usually more narrowly focused.
Newspapers
Where you go for current information and topical comments, as well as for primary research information.Available in print and online and one of the first mediums to report on an event.
Popular Magazines
Are written for general audiences and are meant to entertain, inform, or present an opinion. Authors are usually employed by the magazine.
Video databases
Available through the library and provide scholarly coverage in a variety of disciplines. Users can create playlists and create clips that can be embedded into other documents.
Websites
Provide ready access to information of all kinds. They often provide valuable information, but you must carefully evaluate the credibility and reliability of web sources.
Conference proceedings
These are a collection of papers reporting on presentations or posters delivered at conferences, seminars or workshops.
Reports
Reports are produced by agencies and departments on specific topics or issues. These agencies can include Government departments, research establishments, charitable foundations and more.
Standards
Standards are consensus agreements drawn up by representative collections of people who have a particular interest in the subject. These might be manufacturers, users, research organizations, or government departments.
Manuscripts and Special Collections
Manuscripts and archives are unique items which were created or collected by a person or organization in the course of their ordinary business, and retained by them as evidence of their activities, or because of the information they contain.
Patents
Patents are legal documents which give the owner exclusive rights to profit from an invention, protecting it from exploitation by others unless they have the prior agreement of the patent owner.
Theses or Dissertations
These are documents submitted for doctoral degrees and often include some of the most current and original research on a given topic.
