Research Shortcuts

SHORTCUT 19. Use the Most Specific Resource Guides First

SHORTCUT 19 Use the Most Specific Resource Guides First In the third or fourth grade, teachers introduce students to an encyclopedia for their first research experience. From that time on, students cling to it like a lifeline as they begin every research project. Unless you need some fast general background in your project, forget encyclopedias. While the information may be correct, and even by-lined by an expert in some instances, sources for specific data are rarely cited and it's difficult to separate verified fact from author's conclusion. Instead, begin with the most specific reference tool for each question on your list, taking into consideration how up-to-date you need your answer and from how authoritative a source. l. The most up-to-date and authoritative answers come right from the people who are researching answers to the questions today. Here are some library resources we use to find their names, addresses, and phone numbers. • Who's Who and other biographical directories Almost every field of endeavor-science, medicine, psychology, journalism-has its own biographical directory . Addresses and phone numbers are usually included along with achievements. Many reference libraries keep at least small collections of these tools. • Journal articles Articles in scholarly or technical journals usually list the institution the author is affiliated with (along with S8 Copyrighted Material Use the Most Specific Resource Guides First 59 her name and title) at the beginning or end of the article. • Professional and trade associations' directories Executive directors of most associations know which members are experts and which member companies have experts on staff. The directors' names, addresses, and phone numbers are listed in reference guides. (See Shortcut 25 for the name of one guide.) • Leads to public relators Manufacturers and sellers of everything from nuts to education, hospital care, and peace are all out to promote their products. The people who do their public relations, while not expert themselves in anything but relating to the public, are often willing to steer you to their resident experts. The library has several guides that help you find public relators. One is listed in Shortcut 25. • Leads to federal, state, and local government authorities All levels of government contain informed individuals who feel it's part of their job to inform the public. You can generally locate them by speaking with the Public Information Officer (PIO) of the particular division or department. The U.S. Government Organization Manual is an annual guide that lists the PIOs in all the federal offices, along with their addresses and phone numbers. It's available online and at many libraries. PIOs are often happy to send you pamphlets and other documents at no cost. 2. For the most recent data that has been reported, check the index to the appropriate scholarly or technical journals (see Shortcut 17). If the index also abstracts a digest or synopsis of the important information in the listed article, it's an even better resource. Often you'll find enough Copyrighted Material 60 RESEARCH SHORTCUTS data in the abstract to tell whether you need to read the article. Sometimes you can even quote facts and figures right from the abstract, and save all the time you'd otherwise spend finding and reading the report. Manyjournals charge for reading an entire article online but show the abstract for free. Historical Abstracts, Book Review Digest, and Psychological Abstracts are just three of the many abstracting indexes. Most are online as well as in print, but available only by subscription. Many libraries have subscriptions to the best indexes. Almost any librarian can help you with an online search. The illustration below shows two sequential listings from Psychological Abstracts. Each indexed paper is given a reference number. The first, number 4592, abstracts a paper in the June, 1976, issue of the periodical Hospital & Community Psychiatry (volume 27 number 6) on pages 413 through 415. The words Journal abstract at the end of the reference tells us that this abstract is taken word-for-word from a summary that appears in the periodical. (Though the summary may have been written by an editor of the publication, it's much more likely that the author wrote it himself.) If your research question is something like, "Are criminals crazy?" you may not need to actually find the article. In your note for that question, you may just have to copy Petrich, #7, pp. 413-415...