Step 4: Gather appropriate information

Why?

It's not enough just to identify the types of information you need - you also have to gather and read that information. This can be a time-consuming process. You will need to try your searches in different places (like the catalog and databases) and try using different search terms, until you find the best results for your search.

Remember, you can get help finding information from any reference librarian - stop by the reference desk, call, email, or instant message us!

How?

  • Books and Government Documents
    • To find books and government documents in USA Libraries' collections, use SOUTHcat: USA Libraries' Catalog.
    • Catalog tips and tricks:
      • Keyword searches – use quotation marks to hold phrases together ("death penalty")
      • Truncation – use ? after the root of a word to find all its variants (president? finds president, presidents, presidential...)
      • Browse the Subject(s) field in records to find the right words for searches. (Example: Try doing a keyword search for "death penalty," then look at the subject(s) field in several records. You’ll see that the subject term is "Capital punishment." Click the subject heading to find more records with this subject.)
    • Revise and refine your searches.
    • Watch for repeating call numbers and browse stacks in that area.
    • Pay attention to the Location and Status fields. You will need this information to locate the item in the library.
    • For infomation about using SOUTHcat, consult these tutorials.
  • Articles
  • Internet Sources
    • Check with your instructor
    • Use advanced search options
    • Evaluate