Subject Guides
How To Do Library Research
Web pages and other resources for research assistance.
Guide Contents
Types of Information
One of the questions you will ask yourself during the search process is What type of information will best help me answer my questions? Thinking about the type of information you are looking for will determine how you search for that information, where you look for it, and what tools you use.
Examples of different types of information and where to find it include:
- statistics
- primary sources/ first person experiences
- technical reports or patents
- scholarly literature (articles)
- opinion polls
- news stories
- overviews of a topic (books)
- government documents/ reports /hearings
You may also want to consider sources outside of your traditional library such as archives and Special Collections, interviewing knowledgable individuals, businesses, etc.
