Think about what types of information you need in order to write or present about your research topic or question.
Here are some categories to consider:
- Background information: provides a summary or overview of a topic, event, person, or place. Helpful when you need to know "just the facts" or get a better handle on the basics of your topic.
- Scholarly publication: typically articles or books written by experts for other experts in a given field. Helpful when you need in-depth information on a topic.
- Popular source: information published with a broad audience in mind. This can include a wide range of information formats, including blogs, magazines, and video.
- Public information: data and information gathered and published by experts and professionals working for organizations and government offices.
- Reporting: information written by journalists covering a current or historical event.
- First-person account: articles, books, and videos created by people who have first-person knowledge of a topic.
And keep in mind, many sources include or represent multiple types of information. The most important thing is that the source is credible and relevant to your research.
Find reports, fact sheets, and legislative information from government sources:
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)The CDC, a large operation of the Department of Health and Human Services, provides research and summary articles on a variety of health and safety topics.
- govinfo.govThis portal provides convenient access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
- Indiana General AssemblyAccess archival and current legislative information in the state of Indiana, including bills, acts, and the Indiana Code.
- Government Documents Research GuideVisit this portal from the IU Kokomo Library to access open web sources published and maintained by various government offices and agencies.
Find reporting on your topic, or cross-check reporting that you have already found on one of these recommended news sites:
- Associated Press (AP) NewsDescribed as "the definitive source of independent journalism," AP News provides breaking news and is often reprinted and cited by other news outlets.
- NPR (National Public Radio)National Public Radio is an American privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization based in Washington, D.C. Read or listen to short- or long-form reporting.
- BBC NewsOne of the largest news organizations in the United Kingdom, BBC News is a good source for international events and topics.
- New York Times Academic Pass This link opens in a new windowThe online version of The Times, the most comprehensive existing aggregation of information and content created and published by The New York Times.
IU Kokomo users: To register for access, click on the above resource link. Search for or click on Indiana University Kokomo. Click the on-campus link, or click Go for off campus, and then log in with your IU username and passphrase. You will be redirected to the NYT welcome page. Click Create Account. Complete the registration fields. After registering, you will have full account access for 1 year, after which you will simply need to re-register your email address.
Mobile device users: After you create a personal NYT.com account, you can download the New York Times app from your app store, and then use your account on your own device. - Wall Street Journal Online This link opens in a new windowAccess the world's latest news, business insight, and expert commentary from The Wall Street Journal. This resource allows full access to WSJ.com and Wall Street Journal mobile apps.
IU Kokomo users: You will be prompted to register for access upon your first use of the above link. Log in with your IU CAS credentials, and then complete the registration form with your name and email address to set up your account. You should be able to automatically log in (with CAS) thereafter. You can also use your registered account credentials to log in at WSJ.com or on WSJ mobile apps.
- Opposing Viewpoints in printLooking for more essays, articles, and summaries on your topic? Follow this link to browse books from Opposing Viewpoints in Context in IUCAT. These are available for check out here in the IUK Library.
- EBSCO Discovery Service This link opens in a new windowEDS, also the giant search box on the home page, is a great starting point for any research topic because it searches across the majority of databases available from the Library to find academic journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles, and more.
Search tips:- Don't hesitate to change up your search terms.
- Apply the Publication Date filter to locate more recent sources.
- Filter by Subject to narrow in on your topic.
- Use the Cite button to easily find citation info.
- Watch this video for a brief introduction to EDS.
