How to do Research for a Term Paper

Your topic is chosen (and approved by the instructor, if necessary), so now it's time to dig up some information.

Unfortunately, in this techno-age when everything is easy to find on the Internet (just like you're reading right now!), many students become "armchair researchers", never leaving the comfort of their own room or office to do the dirty work of "digging".

The Internet gives us the impression that, at the flick of a mouse button, the world can be right on our screens. However, this is a bit of an illusion, since:

• The Internet carries only some of the information available and/or necessary for your paper
• Some of the information is not necessarily valid.

What alternative sources are available to you?

The Library

The LIBRARY?! It's true! Some university students who, after several months on campus, have never once visited the library. Why bother when the computer lab and its WWW browsers are so handy? Well, the Internet can be a terrific source of current information, but in the next column we'll get into some "critical" browsing—how to know what to pick fast and what to click past.

Both public and university libraries contain, of course, books, which will usually give you information that is more in-depth than what can be contained in most web sites. There are also journals, magazines, newspapers, special "reserve" or rare book collections, videos, music and spoken word recordings, indexes, and reference works like dictionaries and grammars.

Most importantly, libraries have librarians, people specially trained to find research information, and can order something in if it's not available at that location. They can also direct you to other possible sources, making them a good place to start with your research.

Newspapers

These are a great place to find facts and figures about a location, and editorials and "letters to the editor" can reveal the "pulse" of the people about an event at the time. Book and movie reviews, too, can give you an idea of what people think, and lend some insight into the culture of the country the newspaper is published in.

Libraries have collections of old newspapers, sometimes on microform (ancient technology!). Newspaper offices sometimes have public archives, too. Interviews These are a way to get right to the source of an event or situation itself. Find a person who has experienced something about your topic, or find an expert in the field.

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