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Identifying Sources

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Information is found in many places: dictionaries, encyclopedias, popular and scholarly journals and newspapers, indexes and abstracts, bibliographies, ready reference guides (handbooks, directories, almanacs and yearbooks), government documents, monographs, web pages, and conference proceedings are some of the most commonly used sources of information.

Until recently, nearly all information was available only in printed form, on paper or in microform. Today nearly all sources are also provided via electronic access. Although the forms of access are changing, the types of information sources remain relatively the same.
 

ABSTRACTS: An index which includes brief summaries. Use an abstract when you want to find information in newspapers, magazines or scholarly journals on a certain subject or by a particular author. You will get complete bibliographic information for the article (author's name, title of article, periodical title, volume and date of publication) and an article abstract or summary. periodical index which includes brief summaries of articles.

Sometimes it is hard to figure out what an article is about by its title. By reading an abstract you will get a good idea whether the article will be useful for you. Many subject areas have specialized abstracting services. Check with your library to find out whether there is a specialized abstract for your research topic.

print version - selected titles:
  • Psychological Abstracts
  • Sociological Abstracts

electronic version - selected titles:
  • PsycINFO
  • Sociofile


ALMANACS: A collection of facts, usually issued annually, about the world and the nation.

print version - selected titles:
  • World Almanac
  • Information Please Almanac
  • Statistical Abstract of the United States

electronic version - selected titles:
  • Statistical Abstract of the United States (CD-Rom)


ATLAS: Use an atlas when you want to see a collection of maps. There are all sorts of atlases: world atlases, country specific atlases and subject oriented atlases such as historical atlases. The list could on and on.

print version - selected titles:
  • U.S. Geological Survey. The National Atlas of the United States of America. Washington: 1970.
  • Atlas of the Second World War. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1973.

electronic version - selected titles:


BIBLIOGRAPHIES: A listing of books, articles, dissertations, documents, etc., usually on a particular subject, often including a detailed index and sometimes commentary on each item.
print version - selected titles:
  • Balay, Robert, ed. Guide to Reference Books. 11th ed. Chicago: American Library Association, 1996
  • Filby, P. William. American & British Genealogy & Heraldry: A Selected List of Books. Boston: NEHGS, 1983

electronic version - selected titles:


DICTIONARIES: Dictionaries contain a language's words, arranged alphabetically with explanations of their meanings.
print version - selected titles:
  • Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster Inc., 1961. 2752 pp.
  • The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, New York: random House, 1966, 2059 pp.
  • The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2nd College edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1982, 1568 pp.
  • Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, 2nd ed. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984, 1642 pp.
  • Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 9th ed. Sringfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1983, 1693 pp.

electronic version - selected titles:


DIRECTORIES:A listing of persons, companies, agencies, institutions, organizations, etc., usually providing names, addresses, and phone numbers.

print version - selected titles:
  • American Library Directory. New York: Bowker, 1997.
  • Directory of American Scholars. New York: Bowker, 1978.

electronic version - selected titles:


ENCYCLOPEDIAS: A work that contains information on all branches of knowledge or treats comprehensively a particular branch of knowledge usually in articles arranged alphabetically often by subject.
print version - selected titles:
  • The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 32 vols.
  • The Encyclopedia Americana, Danbury Connecticut: Grolier Incorporated, 30 vols.ls.
electronic version - selected titles:
  • Under Construction


GAZETTEER: Use a gazetteer which is a geographical dictionary when you want to find out brief information about a place or geographical feature. A gazetteer entry may include latitude and longitude, population, a short history of a place, major industry of an area, height of a mountain, length of a river, etc.
print version - selected titles:
  • Chambers World Gazetteer: An A-Z of Geographical Information. 5th ed. Ed. by David Munro. Edinburgh: Chambers, 1988.
  • Munro, David. Oxford Dictionary of the World. New York: OxfordUniversity Press, 1995.
  • Room, Adrian. Place-name Changes since 1900: A World Gazetteer. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1979.

electronic version - selected titles:


GEOGRAPHICAL RESOURCES: ATLAS. A collection of maps in a volume.
print version - selected titles:
  • U.S. Geological Survey. The National Atlas of the United States of America. Washington: 1970;
  • Walker, Oscar W. Atlas of Massachusetts. Boston: Geo. H. Walker, 1891


GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS: Publications issued by a governmental body, be it at an international level such as the United Nations, a national level such as the U.S. government, state level such as Massachusetts or the local level such as the city of Worcester. You can use government documents for research on a vast array of subjects including agriculture, the arts, business, economics, government, health, history, science and social issues. Many of the documents can be read not only in paper but also on the world wide web.

Strong collections of U.S. government documents can be found in federal depository libraries UMass Amherst, UMass Dartmouth, UMass Lowell and UMass Medical Center in Worcester are all depository libraries.

print version - selected titles:
  • Statistical abstract of the United States. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.
  • United States. Office of Management and Budget. Budget of the United States Government Washington, D.C. : Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget.

electronic version - selected titles:


HANDBOOKS: A manual or guidebook providing information on a particular topic.

print version - selected titles:
  • Fowler, H.R., and Jane A. Aaron. The Little, Brown Handbook. 4th ed. Glenview: Scott, Foresman, 1989
  • McAlester, Virginia and Lee McAlester. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Knopf, 1984

electronic version - selected titles:


JOURNALS  

POPULAR JOURNALS: Often referred to as "magazines", popular journals include a significant amount of advertising and are aimed at general audiences. Often authors will not be identified and articles rarely include "references" to other works.

print version - selected titles:
  • Under Construction

electronic version:

SCHOLARLY JOURNALS: Scholarly journals report research results, use a specialized vocabulary, and are aimed at a scholarly audience. Authors are identified experts and professionals, and articles include "references" to other works.

print version - selected titles:
  • Under Construction

electronic version - selected titles:
  • Under Construction


MAP: Maps provide us a view of the surface of the earth or other celestial body, i.e., the moon, Mars, etc. There are all sorts of maps serving all can kinds of purposes - political maps, geographical maps, transportation maps to name a few .You can use maps to locate a city, find local biking paths or study geographical features such as a mountain range or lake.
print version - selected titles:
  • Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Massachusetts Wildlife Management Area Maps. Westboro, Mass.
  • Metropolitan Area Planning Council. Massachusetts Bicycle Map. [Boston?]: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1987.

electronic version - selected titles:


PERIODICAL INDEXES Use a periodical index when you want to locate articles about a particular subject which have appeared in magazines, journals or newspapers. An index gives complete bibliographic information for articles: the author's name, title of article, name of periodical, volume, pages and date of publication.

print version - selected titles:
  • Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature Social Sciences Index

electronic version - selected titles:
  • UnCover
  • PubMed

 

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[UMass] last updated on 3/30/99