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As information is created, it is documented by putting it into a format so that it can be communicated. The major forms of documentation are books, periodicals, government documents, online resources, audio-visual media, and microforms. Information is organized by disciplines or subject areas, each of which has its own books (or monographs), periodicals, and reference sources, including indexes and abstracts.
Books
Books can be in printed or electronic format.
The Manhattan College Library book collection includes specialized reference books such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauruses, bibliographies, biographies, and statistical resources.
Encyclopedias
Encyclopedias are useful resources to turn to when starting your research. They fall into two categories: general encyclopedias and subject encyclopedias.
General encyclopedias cover a broad range of knowledge and are written for the general reader. The following general encyclopedia is available in the Manhattan College Library:
New Encyclopaedia Britannica (in print and online)
Subject encyclopedias cover specific topic areas and are written for educated readers. They contain articles written by scholars specializing in a particular subject. The length of subject encyclopedias may range from a single volume to multiple volumes. In most cases the articles provide a detailed bibliography. These encyclopedias represent a wide range of subject areas. Below are some of the subject encyclopedias found in the Manhattan College Library collection:
African American Encyclopedia
Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Psychology
Dinosaur Society's Dinosaur Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia of Alcoholism
Dictionaries
When it is time to begin the actual writing of your research paper, keep in mind that dictionaries are valuable research tools. They are the authoritative sources for correct word spelling and usage, and can provide grammatical information as well. The most commonly used dictionaries in libraries are abridged dictionaries, unabridged dictionaries, and subject dictionaries.
Abridged dictionaries are the type most often used by students. They list only the most common words in the language, and they cover the lexicon of either British English or American English. The abridged American English dictionaries found in the Manhattan College Library are the following:
American Heritage College Dictionary
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (in print and online)
Chambers 21st Century Dictionary
Chambers Concise Dictionary
Chambers Dictionary
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
Oxford American College Dictionary
Random House Webster's College Dictionary
Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary
Webster's New World Dictionary of American English
Unabridged dictionaries list many more words than abridged dictionaries, and they provide more detailed information about the words. An unabridged dictionary typically gives the history of a word, such as when it first appeared in the language and how it has been used through the years. Because they are too large and bulky to be carried around, these dictionaries are usually placed permanently on special dictionary stands. Below are the unabridged dictionaries found in the Manhattan College Library collection:
Oxford English Dictionary (in print and online)
Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary
Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
Random House Unabridged Dictionary
Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language
Thesauruses
A thesaurus is a book that lists synonyms for words. When writing a term paper, there may be times when you want to add variety by using one or more synonyms for a term, and a thesaurus can make this possible.
There are general thesauruses, those written for individual professions such as engineering and law, and those focusing on specific areas of language such as slang and euphemisms.
Below are some of the more well known general thesauruses:
The Oxford Thesaurus
The Random House Thesaurus
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus in Dictionary Form
Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus
Bibliographies
A bibliography is a list of sources of information on a specific subject. You can find bibliographies in the backs of books and at the ends of encyclopedia entries and journal articles. In addition, there are bibliographies published as complete books. These book-length bibliographies offer in-depth coverage of diverse topics such as bioethics, finance, literary criticism, folklore, and herbal medicine.
Bibliographies usually list a variety of sources on a topic. The most common are books and articles from newspapers, magazines and journals. In addition, there is a growing use of Internet Websites.
The following are some of the bibliographies in the Manhattan College Library collection:
Animal Rights: A Subject Guide, Bibliography, and Internet Companion
Bibliography of the History of Electronics
A Concise Bibliography for Students of English
Biographies
A biography is a written history of the life of one person or a group of people. One of the most respected and authoritative sources of biographical information is the magazine Current Biography. It is published monthly and is available in a cumulative bound edition at the end of each year. Its call number in the reference section is
REF CT100.C8.
Below are some examples of specialized biographies in the reference collection:
African-American Inventors
American Song Lyricists, 1920-1960
International Who's Who
Who's Who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary
Who's Who in America
Statistical Resources
An important part of writing a research paper is being able to support your statements with statistical data. The library has a number of resources which will enable you to do this. The following are some examples:
1. Statistical Abstract of the United States -- A federal government publication, this book summarizes the economic, political, and social organization of the United States. The data are drawn from federal agencies and private institutions. The index at the back of the book lists subject areas and refers the reader to charts and tables. This publication is available in print copy in the library or online through the library Web page. The call number is REF HA202.S8.
2. The World Almanac and Book of Facts -- This book presents worldwide statistical data in many disciplines. Among them are education, religion, crime, agriculture, environment, and geography. A general index and a quick reference index can be found in the back of the publication. The call number is REF AY67.N5W7.
Circulating books can be borrowed from the library using your ID card. Most of the library's book collection falls into this category. Circulating books include works of fiction as well as non-fiction works covering a wide range of academic disciplines.
Periodicals
A periodical is a publication that is issued at regular intervals of time, such as daily, weekly, or monthly. Examples of periodicals are newspapers, general interest magazines, trade magazines, scholarly journals, and newsletters.
- Newspapers are typically published on inexpensive paper known as newsprint. Most of them appear as daily issues, but some are issued weekly or monthly. The geographical area of a newspaper can be national, regional, or local. Some examples are The New York Times (national), The Chicago Tribune (regional), and The Riverdale Press (local). In addition, there are newspapers for specific groups, like India Today and alternative newspapers, such as The Village Voice.
Newspapers are useful for researching current and historical events, science, medicine, and the arts. In addition, newspapers are authorative sources for obituaries.
- General Interest Magazines (Popular Magazines) are published for a general audience. Some examples are Time, Sports Illustrated, People, Business Week, and National Geographic. These are the characteristics that identify a general interest magazine:
The articles are written for general readers.
The authors of the articles are generally journalists, but specialists are sometimes commissioned to write articles.
The articles have few, if any, references or notes.
The magazine is published at regular intervals, such as weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.
It generally has a glossy appearance with numerous photographs and advertisements.
General interest magazines are good sources for short articles on topics of popular interest such as national elections, trends, sports, entertainment, and health.
- Trade Magazines are publications that cover a specific trade, profession, or industry such as agriculture, entertainment, or information technology. Examples of trade magazines are Retailing Today, Billboard, and Advertising Age.
Use trade magazines when you want the most accurate, up-to-date information about specific professions or industries.
- Scholarly Journals are periodicals that contain original research in academic disciplines. They are written for researchers, scholars, experts in specific fields, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Scholarly journals are also known as refereed journals, academic journals, peer-reviewed journals, and research journals. Some examples are The Journal of the American Chemical Society, The New England Journal of Medicine, and Political Science Quarterly. The characteristics which identify a scholarly journal are:
The articles are written chiefly for other scholars.
The style of writing is technical or academic.
Experts in the field of study edit and review each article in the journal before it is accepted for publication. This is called the "referee" or "peer review" process.
The authors of the articles are experts in their fields of study.
Articles in the journal contain notes and bibliographies.
Any advertisements in the journal are for technical products.
The journal is indexed in a subject-specific database, such as MEDLINE or PsycINFO.
DEFINITION: A refereed journal is a journal in which manuscripts are evaluated by at least two reviewers to determine if the manuscripts should be published. The names of the authors of the manuscripts are not made known to the reviewers. The term refereed journal is used interchangeably with peer-reviewed journal.
- Newsletters are specialized publications produced by groups or organizations to provide news and information to their members.
Some organizations, such as the Sierra Club and the NAACP, publish newsletters for their members. In addition, there are publishing companies that produce newsletters for people with a common interest. One example of such a newsletter is Mutual Fund Research.
Government Documents
Government documents are publications produced by government agencies. These documents can be in printed form or online. They can be published as books, periodicals, audio-visual media, microfilms, or microfiches. Government documents are divided into three broad categories:
- Federal Documents
Federal agencies of the United States Government, such as the Department of Education, the Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration, publish their documents through the Government Printing Office (GPO), which in turn distributes them to federal depository libraries.
Full-depository libraries contain all federal government documents available through the GPO.
Partial-depository libraries contain a portion of them of these documents.
- State Documents
These are documents produced by agencies of any of the 50 state governments across the United States. State government documents are deposited in many different libraries. Each state has a state library, which is the main depository of its documents. For a list of state library Web sites, go to:
http://dpi.state.wi.us/pld/statelib.html
- Local Documents
Local jurisdictions of government (such as county, city, town, or village) create local documents. These documents are usually kept in city or county public libraries or in law libraries.
Government Documents Web sites
Many government documents are now available online. The following are some useful Web addresses for accessing them:
Federal Government: http://thomas.loc.gov
Census Information: www.census.gov
State of New York: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/ils/
City of New York:
http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/portal/index.jsp?front_door=true
Government documents are especially valuable for obtaining annually collected statistics and data.
Online Resources
The Internet opens a vast world of information to everyone, but not all of this information is of equal quality. Anyone can put up a Website on the Internet and say anything at all, no matter how outrageous or mistaken. On the other hand, scholars are increasingly using the Internet to share their research with colleagues and the public. Nonprofit organizations and government agencies now have Websites. Individuals with special interests may produce Websites with valuable information for your research. Some Websites charge for usage. When you go to the Internet through a search engine such as Google, you will retrieve links to all kinds of sites. Learning to evaluate Websites is an essential part of the research process.
These are useful questions to ask when evaluating a Website:
- What is the domain?
- Who created the Website?
- Is the Website up-to-date?
- Do the links work?
- What is the URL?
- How does the Website compare to information in other formats?
What is the domain?
To evaluate a Website by its domain, look at the domain suffix at the end of the Web address (the URL). This tells you the type of organization that created the Website.
Below is a list of domain suffixes and the types of organizations that use them:
.com
For-profit businesses. Websites in the .com domain should be carefully evaluated, as there is a monetary incentive underlying the information they contain. Businesses use their Websites to present their products in the most marketable way. This information is not necessarily inaccurate, but it may not be balanced.
.gov
Organizations of the United States Government. All organizations and agencies of the federal government (except the armed services) use this domain. Information on Websites in this domain is considered to be accurate and credible.
.org
Non-profit organizations. This domain includes a diverse group of institutions. Some examples: the American Red Cross, the National Rifle Association, Planned Parenthood. While many non-profits maintain unbiased Websites, some of them may promote a political agenda or a specific point of view. It is advisable to scrutinize .org domains carefully.
.edu
Educational institutions. Primary and secondary schools, colleges, and universities have Websites in this domain. It is best to evaluate .edu Websites carefully. Sites maintained by official departments of schools are usually credible. However, personal Websites of students often carry the .edu suffix. These student sites are not monitored and cannot be certified as accurate.
.mil
The military. The branches of the armed forces of the United States use this domain suffix. As the armed forces are responsible to the federal government, the information on their Websites can be assumed to be credible.
.net
Network organizations. This domain contains Websites that don't fit into any of the other domains. Websites of any imaginable topic appear here. As the quality and credibility of these sites cannot be confirmed, you should evaluate them carefully.
Domains of Countries
Some international Websites place an additional suffix after the domain name suffix. This indicates the country in which the site originated.
Below are some examples of country domain suffixes:
Australia .au
Brazil .br
China .cn
France .fr
Greece .gr
India .in
Japan .jp
Mexico .mx
Morocco .ma
Nigeria .ng
Pakistan .pk
South Korea .kr
Who created the Website?
Does the Website show the name of its author? Ask yourself these questions about the author:
- What are the author's credentials?
- What is the author's educational background?
- Is the author an expert on the topic of the Website?
If there is no author, does the Website have a sponsoring organization? Is the organization reputable?
Is the Website up-to-date?
Check to see when the site was last updated. On well maintained Websites, this date is usually at the bottom of the initial screen. An outdated Website may contain incorrect or incomplete information.
Do the links work?
Be wary of Websites in which numerous links are broken. This may be a sign that the sites are outdated or not maintained on a regular basis.
What is the URL?
Sometimes it is difficult to identify the sponsor of a site. One way to do this is to shorten the URL to its root address. For example, consider this site :
http://www.cyber-north.com/vitamins
This site is called "Vitamin Information Center," but its sponsor is not identified. If you shorten the URL to http://www.cyber-north.com, you will see that this is a commercial company called Due North Resources. While the information it provides about vitamins may not necessarily be false, it might be biased in favor of sales for the company.
How does the Website compare to information in other formats?
Websites can be excellent sources of information, but they should be used in conjunction with sources in other formats. Books, magazines, newspapers, journals, DVDs, videos -- these are the primary formats that hold a wealth of information essential for research.
Audio-Visual Media
Audio-visual media include films, videos, DVDs, CDs, CD-ROMS, and audiocassettes.
Microforms
Microforms are rolls or flat sheets of film that contain articles from newspapers, magazines, and journals. You can read these articles and print them by using a microforms reader machine located on the first floor of the library.
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