College of DuPage Library

General Information 

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Periodicals aimed at a general or nonprofessional audience. Published frequently (usually weekly or biweekly), they cover everything from news and entertainment (Time, Rolling Stone), to amateur science (Sky & Telescope), to recreation and hobbies (Runner's World). 

Strengths:

• Source for background on significant events, including names, dates, interviews, photographs.
• Popular perspectives on the social impacts of research
• Perspectives of particular groups (e.g. Ms. Magazine on feminism.)
• Reviews of popular literature, art, and film
• Easily located at libraries, newsstands, and bookstores

Considerations:

• May be used for clues even when not cited in final paper
• Be wary of bias; objectivity is a myth. What do you know about the publisher?
• Does the publication have an editorial slant? Who is responsible for content?
• Target audience: General public

 

General Information

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 Daily publications containing accounts of the day's events and other features. Most newspapers are typically published for a single city or town (The Daily Herald), while papers from the largest cities (The New York Times) have a more global readership, and others target a specialized audience (Wall Street Journal).

Strengths:

• Local perspectives on a story
• Primary source for events
• Good for local news stories too small to be published elsewhere

Considerations:

• Large city papers may publish separate city and national editions with different content
• Articles written with newest developments first and background information later (pyramid style.)
• Back issues of most papers, when available, are normally only on microfilm or in Web archives
• Web versions usually differ from print versions
• Target audience: General public, usually in a specific city or region

 

General Information

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Television news is broadcast at regular intervals during the day, usually morning, evening, and night, and whenever important news demands that other programming be interrupted. Internet news sites (like CNN.com) are also becoming an important news resource. They can be accessed at any time; they can provide links to other information sources on the Web; and they allow users to explore on their own.

Strengths:

• Web links allow exploration of related information
• Immediate access to breaking stories
• Stories updated regularly and often
• Access to first-hand interviews & video footage 

Considerations:

• Internet sites and broadcast media aren't always archived and preserved; stories can "disappear" overnight
• Commercialism (ads, banners, editorial choices driven by sponsors) may create bias and sensationalism
• Can be difficult to access the story you want
• Target audience: General public

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General Information

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Unfiltered, informal communications produced by communities of people who share an interest in a common subject or discipline. E-mail, personal conversations, conference papers, unpublished diaries, meeting minutes, phone calls, newsletters, memoranda, blogs, tweets, and other sources that may not pass through the usual publishing, broadcasting, and distribution channels.

Strengths:

• Some historically inaccessible information is now made available on the Internet
• Often available sooner than conventional literature
• May allow the reader/user to "listen in" on active debate of current issues

Considerations:

• Dramatic variation in quality
• Can be hard to identify, search for, and access
• May require validation of data, especially with Internet sources
• Assumes a fairly high level of familiarity with an issue or topic
• Usually not good for gathering background information, but great for gathering clues and easily-overlooked insights
• Target audience: generally any group sharing a common interest -- you may need to look up some terms

 

Making Sense of Information

We take in so much information in so many different forms every day, it's hard to make sense of it all. In extreme cases, we may even experience "information overload."
So, it's important to understand that information is produced and distributed according to general patterns, often referred to as "Information Cycles." It's not an exact science; but a skilled researcher who understands these patterns and knows which types of information sources are most appropriate for any given project is likely to achieve consistent success in finding what they need.

Timeline

   A news event makes visible the production of information related to it. But that information is part of a continuum that actually begins before the event takes place, is sometimes visible to the public and sometimes not, and may never end, just slow down over time.

Most search engines and databases search "words anywhere" or "keywords" automatically unless you select another type of search.

Keyword searching finds matches for your terms in any field of a record or any part of a Web page, so you will typically retrieve more information with less precision.

Databases and search engines may allow searching in specific fields such as author, title, url (Web address), or subject (which is the most common field to search) and will sometimes refer to this as "advanced," or "expert" searching. These searches will typically retrieve less information with more precision.

If you are a detective and the only clues you have for a missing persons case are the words "red," "blue," and "green," these people could be a match.

This is keyword searching: RED + BLUE + GREEN

If instead you knew your person had a red tie, blue shirt, and a green beret, you have a better chance of finding the right person.

This is field searching: Tie= RED, Shirt= BLUE, Beret= GREEN

When should you use a keyword search?
We recommend keyword searching when you are doing either a large original research project or are looking for a rare or unique term (e.g. Eminem). This strategy allows you to find anything remotely related to a topic. Doctoral students and professional researchers typically perform these searches early in their research in order to identify everything already published about their focus area. Keyword searching can also be an effective strategy for identifying subject terms from a few relevant records to prepare for a subject field search later.

When should you use a field search?
We recommend field searching when you need to find a relatively small number of sources on a specific topic. This type of searching is most useful for smaller projects like course term papers, problem-solving activities, and making consumer choices.
 

Records  Records are the building blocks of databases-- they describe information sources. Examples: • Your driver's license is a record describing certain characteristics of the you. • An entry for Moby Dick in the Library's catalog is a record describing certain characteristics of the book.

 It is unrealistic, at this time, to expect all information sources to come directly to a computer screen on demand. The reasons for this will be clearer to you as you become more experienced finding and using information.

In the meantime, having a record describing a source that you can then find using your own abilities and knowledge is an excellent starting point. The description in a record uses elements called metadata [information about information]. In many cases, the text itself will have to be located using other finding tools. Some libraries provide links to the text of articles, when available, at their own expense. 

Fields  Fields are the building blocks of records-- they are the sections of a record where information is stored. Examples: • Your driver's license has fields for information like Name, Eye Color, Height, Address, etc. • The entry for Moby Dick has fields for Author, Title, Subject, Publisher, and Publication Date.

Every database contains only certain types and amounts of information, a characteristic called coverage. This information can typically be found in the database itself under links such as "About [name of database]," "Database information," "Title list," or "Sources," etc. Web-based databases are typically accessed from a link that is annotated with some information about coverage. Databases published in paper form normally locate this information in the front of each volume or in an introduction. 

data·base: noun 1. A collection of data arranged for ease and speed of search and retrieval.  --The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

This quality of being " ... arranged for ease and speed of search and retrieval" is what distinguishes a database from a computer network like the Internet, which has no standardized organization principle.

Databases may sometimes be accessed through the Internet, but their contents are not retrieved by search engine services like Google or Yahoo! Most are available through separate Web sites that charge a fee for use, normally paid by libraries on behalf of their users.

How do you evaluate information found on the Web?

One way is to ask questions about who, what, when, where and why the resource was created.

The CRAP Test (Currency, Reliability, Authority, Purpose) is an acronym that represents criteria that can be used in evaluating websites. Web domain names can also provide additional clues to the credibility of sources.

Remember, these questions are guidelines for determining if a resource is credible. Not all websites will meet all the criteria for a credible website. Even if a site doesn't meet all criteria, it may still be credible and useful. For example, information on a website might still be credible even if the site hasn't been updated for many months or even years.

Currency

Reliability

Authority

Purpose/Point of View

Website Domain Names

Website domain names are the end part of the URL that falls after the "." in a web address. For example, the ".COM" in CNN.COM.

Below are the five common top-level domain names and their general purpose:

• .COM – Commercial
• .EDU – Educational institutions
• .GOV – Government agencies
• .NET – General purpose
• .ORG - Organizations

The website domain name can provide insights to why the information is being made available. For example, someone posting information on a “.COM” website might, but not necessarily, be trying to sell you something. Use the CRAP Test and your critical thinking skills to decide if the information you’re assessing is credible and appropriate for your research needs.