The Right Tool for the Job

Depending on your topic, it's important that you choose the tool that offer you the most relevant results. Below is a list of sources you might wish to consult, based on how current the information is that you are searching for. You'll also want to distinguish between primary and secondary sources.

Primary source: An original manuscript, record or document created at the time an event occurred. Example: Declaration of Independence.

Secondary source: A work that critiques, comments on or builds upon primary sources associated with an event. Example: Article about the Declaration of Independence.

Source	Tool	Appropriate for...
People (Professor, Friends, Experts)	Word of mouth	The most up-to-date information, ideas of where to search.
Associations	Encyclopedia of Associations (REF HS17 G334), web search, or check Associations on the Net	Organizations may be able to provide information, studies on your topic. Example: American Planning Association has a Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy division.
Web	Search Engine	Overview information on a topic, company reports, some free journal articles. Lots of variety. Necessary to evaluate.
Newspapers	LEXIS-NEXIS Academic, other individual newspaper databases	News and trade publications. Not scholarly, but useful for opinions, dates, current events, and journalistic analysis.
Magazines, Conference Proceedings, Scholarly Journals	Databases such as ThomsonGale PowerSearch, JSTOR, or Compendex Web via Engineering Village	Information varies in timeliness and scholarship. Each database will have a different focus. Be sure to read the descriptions.
Books, Reference Works, Annual Reviews	Library Catalog	More in-depth coverage, or overview/background information.

Maintained by lib-webmaster@wpi.edu
Last modified: Aug 25, 2006, 13:18 EDT