Research Basics: Using Library and the Internet to Gather Information

Objectives:
 To learn how to use libraries and the Internet to locate information.

I. Reasons for Including References to Source Materials in your Research Essays:

• To give background information to help the readers understand your ideas
• To provide examples and other details to support a point you are making
or to counter an argument
• To enhance your credibility by providing evidence from experts in social
science
• To indicate to your reader where to find further information about your
subject

II. Types of Sources

• Print sources – books and periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers).
• Electronic sources – Internet and CD-ROMs
• Media sources – television, radio, film, sound recordings
• Graphic sources – drawings, photographs, cartoons, maps, tables, graphs,
charts.
• Field sources – interviews, surveys, and field notes

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Sources are either primary or secondary. Primary sources are firsthand, or
original materials; secondary sources are the knowledge that has already been
created and published by other scholars in materials.

III. Locating Sources

Libraries and the Internet are two main places to locate primary and secondary
sources.

A. Library Sources
The PolyU Pai-Yue Kong Library contains extensive collections of print, electronic,
media, graphic, and field sources in business, including books, articles in
newspapers, magazines, academic journals, government publications, electronic
databases, videotapes, microforms, etc.

Review Exercise: How to use the library

To begin with, read over the notes and also visit the on-line virtual tour of the
library at http://www.lib.polyu.edu.hk/intro/eng/00-welcome.htm and complete
the questions below:

(Lecturers: Please double check the record before tutorials as there maybe
changes in terms of the number of copies found at Poly U and HKALL libraries)

1. Apart from subject search , what other kinds of searches you can perform on
the library website?? Author, keyword
2. What’s the call number of the book The Grammar Guide: Developing
Language Skills for Academic Success? PE 1112 A29 2003
3. How many copies can you locate? Where can you locate the book/ books? 3
circulation
4. How can you place a book request? Login in / on line
5. How many HKALL libraries have a copy of The Grammar Guide: Developing
Language Skills for Academic Success? 5
6. When do we need to perform a keyword search?
7. What is a wildcard character? Locate words with same root
8. What do you need to input between the related terms in the same box when
performing a keyword search? AND
9. What can you do if you want to view a video located in your search, say a TV
programme? Can you watch the programs at home? Some of them are on
line
10.How to locate electronic version of a journal? E BOOK in search section
11.How can you save a list of results for future use? Save marked record/ all
record

B. Internet Sources
The Internet offers a wide range of multi-media sources for research. The
following list shows the main ways you can find sources on the Internet:

 World Wide Web – a global network of online sites created by individuals,

organizations, and government agencies that provide information in textual,
graphic, audio, and video form
 Email – an application that enables you to send requests for information to
individuals and organizations, conduct interviews, transmit and receive files,
and subscribe to online newspaper and magazines
 Listservs and newsgroup – electronic discussion on a broad spectrum of topics

Evaluating Sources
The library and the Internet offer a wide range of multi-media sources for
research. Nevertheless, as most of the information is not assessed for quality
and organization, a lot of information can be inaccurate, incomplete, and biased.
You should always evaluate the usefulness and credibility of sources and, in
particular, Internet sources.

Practice:
You are very interested in investigating into the Elderly problem in Hong Kong.
Can you name some of the Elderly problems in Hong Kong? Narrow down your
area of research and locate suitable materials for your paper. Please use the on
line search to locate
1) 3 relevant books
2) 3 relevant journal articles

for your research.

Area of research: ___________________________________

Books:
1)_________________________________________
2)_________________________________________
3)_________________________________________

Journals:
1)__________________________________________
2)_________________________________________
3)___________________________________________

Answer may vary

References:
Gardner, P.S. (2005). New directions: Reading, writing, and critical thinking. New York, NY: Cambridge University
Press.