1. Sources of Information for the Research Paper
Capstone Research Project
Holbrook Junior Senior High School
Mrs. Christine Golden

2. Sources of Information
Information Sources
Books
Magazines
Journals
Diaries
Online Databases
Websites (limit these)
Personal Interviews
Newspaper Articles
Photographs
Documentaries
Biographies
Encyclopedias
Almanacs
Government documents
Artifacts (physical objects…)
Once you have chosen your research topic and constructed a thesis statement, it is time to start gathering your information.
USE MULTIPLE
AND
DIVERSE
SOURCES

3. BOOKS Don’t forget Google books
Pros: Good for in-depth information Reliable, has gone through an editing process Contains cited sources Reference lists to direct you to other sources Cons: Watch copyrights for outdated material May only be one copy for multiple users

4. POPULAR MAGAZINES
Pros: Good for information on a variety of broad general interest topics Written for entertainment and leisure reading Cons: Little in-depth information Few or no cited sources No bibliographies or reference lists

5. NEWS ORIENTED MAGAZINES
Examples: TIME Newsweek (online only)
Pros: good for information on current events good for analysis on current trends Cons: Research is not in-depth No reference lists No cited sources

6. SCHOLARLY JOURNALS
Pros: good for in-depth research and analysis contains cited sources contains reference lists articles are reviewed by experts before publication Cons: uses technical language that may be difficult to understand

7. JOURNALS VS. MAGAZINES

8. ENCYCLOPEDIAS PROS: excellent place to start research
provides information that is general and brief
links to more sophisticated and in-depth information
print or online format available
User ID: hjshslibrary
Password: bulldogs
Encyclopedia Britannica available via

9. *Available on our catalog site for
NEWSPAPERS
Boston Globe
New York Times
*Available on our catalog site for
FREE
Pros: good for information on current events good for analysis on current trends Cons: research is not in-depth no reference lists no cited sources

10. GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS
Pros: good for information that cannot be easily accessed by the general public good for research on controversial topics good for primary source info Cons: varies in quantity and currency may be politically biased

11. DATABASES
Pros: highly reliable easy to access citations properly completely references to other reliable sites wide variety of topics available FREE to access through GVRL Gale Virtual Reference Library Biography in Context

12. WEBSITES
Pros: quick and easy to access information large body of information available Cons: varies greatly in quality no regulation on the web anyone can publish! no editing process to check reliability distracting ads and graphics many lack publication info, difficult to cite

13. TYPES OF SOURCES
Primary Sources- first hand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic Secondary Sources- interprets and analyzes primary sources Tertiary Sources- provides overview of a topic by combining primary and secondary sources

14. PRIMARY SOURCES
Created by witnesses or participants who directly experienced or observed an event
Examples: Court transcripts Diaries, letters, s Manuscripts Maps Original artwork Film Sheet music, sound recordings Interviews, speeches

15. SECONDARY SOURCES Examples: Histories Criticisms Commentaries
Interprets and analyzes primary sources Are one or more steps removed from an event Does not present original thinking

16. TERTIARY SOURCES
Almanacs Textbooks Dictionaries Chronologies Fact books Manuals
Overview of topics gathered from primary and secondary sources

17. RESEARCH PAPERS
Strong research papers contain: *a defendable thesis *multiple sources of information (many) *varied sources of information (not just websites) *properly cited sources