INFORMATION RESOURCES

Standard Reference Material

• Encyclopedias and Textbooks• Periodicals and Pamphlets• Atlases, Dictionaries, Almanacs, and Thesaurus• Electronic Resources: Websites, Databases, Periodicals,

etc.

Facts about ENCYCLOPEDIAS

• Encyclopedias are often multi-volume books. They are now available in electronic format. Regardless of format, encyclopedias contain articles that give general information about a wide range of subjects.

• Entries in an encyclopedia are listed in alphabetical order by topic, so you have to know what you’re looking for.

Facts aboutTEXTBOOKS

• Another good starting point for a research project is your own textbook.

• Textbooks are full of information you can use when starting a research project.

Facts about Periodicals

• Periodicals are published at intervals– Types of Periodicals

• Magazines• Newspapers• Journals

Pamphlets• Pamphlets are short booklets published

by government agencies, businesses, and other organizations, are another resource.

• Organizations use pamphlets to tell people who they are and what they do.

• Pamphlets can also provide general information to the public.

Parts of a Book

• Title of book

• Author

• Publisher

• Title Page & Copyright Page

Table of Contents

• Appears at the beginning of a book and lists its major sections, often chapters, along with the pages they start on.

• A Table of Contents Does Not go into detail about what is in the chapter or section.

Indexes

• An alphabetical list of every topic covered in a book.

• Gives page numbers where topic can be found in the book.

• It’s usually located on the very last pages of the book.

• The index is much more detailed than the table of contents.

Bibliographies

• A list of the resources used to write a book or paper.

• Authors include the bibliography at the end of the book, just before the index.

• Bibliographies are also referred to as the “Works Cited” page.

• Protects against plagiarism• Allows others to locate other resources used to

look up more information.

Bibliographies cont.A book with one author:

Example:

• Harris, Katherine. The Garbage Crisis: Facing America’s Waste Problem.

Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University

Press, 2002.

Bibliographies cont.

A book with more than one author:

Example:

• Robertson, Karen, Sam R. Johnson, and Kelly Williams. Keeping It Clean: Modern Strategies for Waste Disposal. Winnfield, LA: Mudberg Press,

2001.

Bibliographies cont. A book with an editor

• Example:

Guillermo, Carmine, ed. Privatization in Waste Management. Newark,

NJ: 1998.

Bibliographies cont.

Book or Pamphlet issued by an organization

• Example:Environmental Protection Agency. Recycle Today. Washington, D.C.: Environmental Protection Agency, 2000.

Bibliographies cont.Magazine or Newspaper Article

• Example:Davis, Marietta. “The Great Recycling Travesty”. Weekly News Journal 23 September 2003: 22-23.

Bibliographies cont.No Author Available

• Example:

“New Recycling Program Seen as Successful”. Wilmington Daily Gazette 18 April 2000: B1.

Bibliographies cont.Encyclopedias/Reference Books

• Example: “ Sanitary Landfill”. Encyclopedia Americana. 1998 ed.

Bibliographies cont.Website

• Example:Medline Plus. U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health. 10 March 2010

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/medlineplus.html.

Glossary

• Dictionary format• Includes new or

unfamiliar words• Listed in

alphabetical order• Meanings of

important words• Appears in bold

writing

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