David Novak
2004-01-16 09:20:22 UTC
Archive-name: internet/info-research-faq/part3
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: April 2002
URL: http://spireproject.com
Copyright: (c) 2001 David Novak
Maintainer: David Novak <***@spireproject.com>
Information Research FAQ (Part 3/6)
100 pages of search techniques, tactics and theory
by David Novak of the Spire Project (SpireProject.com)
Welcome. This FAQ addresses information literacy; the skills, tools and
theory of information research. Particular attention is paid to the
role of the internet as both a reservoir and gateway to information
resources.
The FAQ is written like a book, with a narrative and pictures. You have
found your way to part three, so do backtrack to the beginning. If you
are lost, this FAQ always resides as text at
http://spireproject.com/faq.txt and http://spireproject.co.uk/faq.txt
and with pictures at http://spireproject.com/faq.htm
This FAQ is an element of the Spire Project http://spireproject.com,
the primary free reference for information research and an important
resource for search assistance.
*** The Spire Project also includes a 3 hour public seminar titled
*** Exceptional Internet Research. This is a fast paced seminar
*** supported with a great deal of webbing, reaching to skills and
*** research concepts beyond the ground covered on our website and
*** this FAQ. http://spireproject.com/seminar.htm has a synopsis.
*** I am in Europe, seminaring in Ireland and Europe though I
*** will be returning to the US shortly, and South Australia for
*** a seminar this October.
Enjoy,
David Novak - ***@spireproject.com
The Spire Project : SpireProject.com and SpireProject.co.uk
NOTE FOR RETURN READERS: previously, we prepared this section by
converting work originally prepared in html. This became unproductive
so we have limited the internet links in this FAQ and direct you to the
more lengthy articles prepared in html. All the required links and
search tool forms reside in other parts of the Spire Project, like the
websites and free shareware
(http://spireproject.com/spire_latest_version.zip).
Information Venues
Section 5
At the successful completion of his work in Nubia, Shakh was invited to
travel to Babylon as the assistant to the new ambassador. It had been
many years since Egyptians were in official contact with the residents
of the two rivers. All trade had been conducted through the Phoenicians
living along the Mediterranean coast. With these cities captured by the
Assyrians, new trade links were needed.
The journey took much longer than Shakh had expected. Leaving Egypt in
a simple boat, it took many months to reach the shores of Lebanon,
where the tall cedar trees grew. These trees, essential to crafting
fine sea-worthy ships, was just one of the items sought by the
Egyptians.
Within two weeks of their arrival in the Assyrian capitol Nineveh, the
Ambassador fell ill and died. Without guidance, 18 months journey from
Egypt, Shakh stepped into the position.
His first task was to gather information both of the officials best to
approach, and of Egyptian goods most likely to interest the Assyrians.
With few local contacts, Shakh set about building connections with
other governments, dining with export officials, collecting information
about how other governments had succeeded and failed in their trade
requests with the Assyrians. Shakh knew success would depend on
approaching the most practical of officials while delicately
side-stepping the wishes of the officials who threatened, or felt
threatened, by Egypt.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
While it may be practical to divide all information into a collection
of formats, information is also organized by others for our benefit.
Libraries, commercial databases, journals, information archives, each
of these venues will assist you to find particular information. The
information is already gathered together, classified and organized for
your benefit. As a skilled researcher, you must be proficient in
finding information from these resources.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
United Nations Information
links and more at http://spireproject.com/un.htm
"The United Nations is involved in every aspect of international life -
from peace-keeping to the environment, from children's rights to air
safety. ... The UN system generates an enormous amount of information
on some of the most pressing issues the world faces ... press releases,
video and photographic footage, publications, briefing papers, etc."
Samir Sanbar, A Guide to Information at the United Nations.
United Nations documents are a recognized authority for any number of
international issues: social, legal and political. You certainly will
not be chastised for quoting United Nations statistics. Critical to
research, the UN is a collection of almost autonomous organizations
(called organs) with occasionally overlapping responsibilities,
distinct websites, and recorded as distinct publishers. As you approach
UN information, remember this is not a monolithic organization with
clearly defined roles. All drug efforts are not coordinated by the
UNDCP and all statistical work is not undertaken by the UN Statistical
Division.
UN Internet Resources
The UN website at www.un.org is just one entry point to UN information.
Of note, it contains a searchable archive of UN press releases
stretching back to 1995, 7 days of press briefings, an archive section
and information about UN publications. The real tool to use is UNIONS
(http://www3.itu.int/unions/search.cgi), a meta-search engine for many
of the larger UN organ websites.
UN Library Resources
The UN is an accomplished publisher, through their sales lists is not
particularly large. It is just that anything they do publish is of a
very high standard. Many documents are generated by the numerous
meetings and efforts, so there is a second style of publishing, called
Masthead or UNDoc documents, that are usually just photocopies. UNDoc
are found in a collection of UN depository libraries around the world.
(There is a good list at http://www.un.org/MoreInfo/Deplib/). Thus we
have the UNDoc primary source documents and UN Sales Documents, given a
sales document number and sold and shelved in libraries as books.
S/1997/742/Add.1, Report of the Secretary-General on the situation
concerning Western Sahara: a brief breakdown of the estimated costs for
completing the voter identification process in Western Sahara.
Other documents have wider appeal...
E.96.I.5, The United Nations and the International Tribunals for the
former Yugoslavia and Rwanda - UN Blue Book Series
S/1997/742/Add.1, Abortion Policies: A Global Review, Population
studies No. 129: A three volume, 650 page country-by-country look at
abortion.
You can use the US Library of Congress Online Catalogue for a good
approximate search of UN Sales documents. A search of UNDoc documents
requires one of three comprehensive databases, like UN-Bis Plus, though
you can also get the numbers to specific documents through UN
periodicals like the Yearbook of the United Nations and the United
Nations Chronicle.
With 300+ shelves of UN documents at depository libraries, the UNDoc
files are excellent records to history. The UNDoc Current Index (ceased
publication in 1996) is an extensive quarterly directory (of the
non-cumulative kind) just for this purpose.
Further tools are available to help the dedicated searcher, like
focused indexes and an annual list of current sales documents (also
online).
Trouble with Age
United Nations publications do suffer time lags. The best documents
appear well after the curve of public interest. Primary UNDOC documents
will take up to 6 months before becoming available at a UN depository
library and the Sales Documents are compiled after this. On the
positive side, UN archives frequently extend back to the 1950s.
Information Theory
The UN has existed since the 1950s. The systems established to manage
and distribute access to UN publications is at once both highly
sophisticated and out-of-date. It is truly amazing to see 300 shelves
of UN documents (a very big room mainly filled with stapled
photocopies).
At the same time, it is only a matter of time before the whole concept
of UN depository library is translated online. There is such potential
savings (there are 359 depository libraries in the world but the UN
pays for one in each country) and such an improvement in access.
All the links and a few of the forms for searching UN information
reside at http://spireproject.com/un.htm
___________________________________________________
Government Information
links and more at http://spireproject.com/gov.htm
We pay a high price in both direct and indirect taxes for our
government. These are intelligent people, paid to be informed.
Government experts and documents are thus generally detailed, factual
and reliable ... and helpful. It should not surprise you that
government documents have a high quality, tend to have a little problem
with time.
Central to finding government information on the web is the way the
clear organizational structure is replicated online. Each country will
have a primary website with links to the websites of each national
government department. Each state will have a primary website with
links to the websites of each state government department. Each
department website will link to all sub-departments. If you wanted to
see the website for the New Zealand statistical agency, just visit the
New Zealand government website, then look for the statistical agency.
If you wanted to see the website for the Mississippi government agency
responsible for childcare, just visit the US government website, find
Mississippi, then look for an agency that might be responsible for the
family, then keep clicking till you find the page you need.
With a little more maturity, many corporate website were redesigned to
present answers as they are needed by the visitors - instead of having
marketing, accounting and distribution directories, websites were
rearranged to have sections for customer sales, investor relations and
distributor relations. Government website have begun the transformation
too, with websites serving the perceived needs of visitors. Clever
sites will present both structures but some will have an alternative
structure linking you through to the agency website.
* There are two fine internet directories of international government
websites, one by the University of Michigan Documents Center, another
by the University of Southern California.
* There is a specialized, government-only webpage search engine called
GovBot as developed by The Center for Intelligent Information Retrieval
(CIIR). Altavista and All-the-Web also let you restrict a large global
search to a specific domain. This allows you to search just for .gov
sites.
* Government Publications are effectively organized in a national
publication database. The US MOCAT database (Monthly Catalog of US
Government Publications), the Australian AGIP (Australian Government
Index of Publications (AGIP) and the United Kingdom Stationery Office
publications list are all free online.
For information not available, many nations permit Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests. This essentially forces government agencies
to release information they can not justify keeping secret. FOI
requests may cost you a token fee (and is often less for members of the
media). The Electronic Frontiers Foundation (EFF) maintains a good FOI
archive (http://www.eff.org/Activism/FOIA/), as does the Society of
Professional Journalists (http://spj.org/foia/index.htm).
___________________________________________________
Commercial Databases
links and more at http://spireproject.com/database.htm
Commercial databases are simply collections of information presented
electronically. Databases range in size from simple books made
searchable, to several billion records in the larger news databases.
The retail database industry is obscure. Costs are highly variable and
difficult to determine in advance. Products with the same name may
contain different information. Databases are frequently combined into
larger collections of databases, (also called databases,) often several
times, so an individual magazine or database may exist within several
databases and several collections.
Within this confusion are a collection of definitive, must-search
databases. Definitive databases are determined by successful marketing.
Not necessarily the 'best', nor most useful, but the market-successful
become definitive resources. From there, success breeds further value.
Such databases will be invaluable in your search for answers. More
discussion on the database industry can be found in section 9 of this
FAQ.
Free Databases
At the edge of the database industry are a number of prominent
databases that have emerged as free databases, delivered over the
internet directly from their source. Look briefly at some of these
databases:
* ERIC, (Education Resources Information Center) is presented by the
[US] National Library of Education. Established in 1966, ERIC is one of
the cornerstone databases for the education field and provides
citations & abstracts to education-related literature.
* CRIS, (Current Research Information System) is produced by the US
Dept of Agriculture (USDA) and includes Canadian, USDA, and Czech
agriculture, food and forestry research. Projects sponsored by these or
affiliated agencies are included
* Agricola is produced by the [US] National Agricultural Library and
its cooperators. This is an important bibliographic database covering
agriculture and all the related disciplines (including forestry &
agri-business & alternative agriculture). Started in 1970, this has
become an important database limited only by its bibliographic nature.
* Thomas, presented by the [US] Library of Congress, delivers US
legislative information (including Congress, Representatives, Senate &
the many committee reports).
* EDGAR, produced by the (US) Securities and Exchange Commission,
delivers all public US company submissions as required by law. The
information is factual and numerical - and includes both current and
past submissions.
* MOCAT, UKOP and AGIP are the US, UK and Australian government
publication databases
* The Library of Congress, The British Library, and The National
Library of Australia card catalogues can be searched online.
* Medline is produced by the [US] National Library of Medicine and
delivers references to all areas of medicine (including nursing,
dentistry, nutrition), with some abstracts.
* The United States Department of Energy (DOE) publishes The DOE
Information Bridge, a database with full-text and bibliographic records
of DOE-sponsored research and development. Covers research projects in
energy sciences and technology.
* BIOGRAPHY(r) Online is published at www.biography.com and includes
15000+ biographical abstracts - but most are really really short.
For more free bibliographic databases, I strongly suggest you read
Bases de données gratuites (http://urfist.univ-lyon1.fr/gratuits.html)
by Jean-Pierre Lardy. This directory has over 200 entries! Use the
Altavista Babelfish to have a look at it.
All Databases
Gale Research produces the Gale Directory of Databases (in 2 volumes).
This is the definitive listing of databases in the world, for the
moment. Most large libraries will have a copy. New editions are
released every 6 months.
There are also smaller, more focused directories like Fulltext Sources
Online published by Information Today or The Directory of Australian
and New Zealand Databases by the Australian Database Development
Association (ADDA).
Database Industry
You will access commercial databases through one of five basic sources.
1_ From a Commercial Database Retailer,
2_ From alternatively funded (free) internet sources,
3_ Through a Library or other venue with a site license,
4_ With the help of an Information Professional (searching for you),
5_ Directly from the source with a personal subscription.
Consider the Commercial Database Retailer as the department store of
the information market. The industry is dominated by a handful of
dedicated retailers like The Dialog Corporation, Lexis-Nexis, and
InfoMart. Other retailers focus on certain types of databases.
Retailers select the databases they carry, and enjoy mark-ups in the
region of 300% to 400% from which they provide customer service,
support and promotion. So very much service and promotion is provided
that these retail giants hold a pivotal role in the distribution of
commercial databases.
The most important selection tool for databases is the database
description. These are factual, accurate descriptions of what each
database includes and how they can be searched.
Many of the database descriptions are online. To facilitate finding
these, we have added links here and in other articles. Further
descriptions may be available from retailer websites.
A list of database retailers follow.
* The Dialog Corporation (http://www.dialog.com), a merger of Dialog,
Datastar and M.A.I.D. The largest database retailer by far, the
databases are general.
* Lexis-Nexis especially carries full text and legal research
databases.
* Questel/Orbit specializes in patent and technical science databases
* EINS (European Information Network Services) appears offer discount
access to technical databases.
* Infomart Dialog (Canada) has Canadian coverage with many of the
Dialog databases.
* FT Profile is the information wing of Financial Times (UK).
There are further database retailers specifically focused on the
library market like OCLC's FirstSearch. Further databases are focused
on business needs, like DowJones and Dun & Bradstreet.
In addition, there are always the individual databases which undertake
the difficult task of retailing by themselves.
Conclusion
Databases are complex structures based on the inverted index and on a
range of search technologies including Boolean terms, truncation,
complex limits, descriptors, filters, ranking and more. Certainly the
technology is becoming easier to use (look at the Reuters Business
Briefing for state of the art), but there is still much to learn. An
experienced searcher will locate far better results than a novice.
However, an uninvolved searcher has a handicap, both in price and
language. Sometimes it is wise to get help searching a database,
sometimes it is not.
The commercial database industry is shifting to use the internet as the
preferred delivery vehicle. Considerable changes are coming too - not
the least a tumble in the price of information.
Another change is a move towards full text databases. Some databases
include only bibliographic information, many provide abstracts, but
only a small fraction include full text. This will frustrate you deeply
as full text databases are so very very convenient.
Researching databases is incredibly difficult and cumbersome. They
challenge the mind, stretch far beyond the simple skills of searching
the internet, and since every minute is expensive, there is much added
pressure.
But this is a skill like any other. Practice with the databases of your
local research university at an off-peak time (mornings are good) and
using the CD-ROM versions - learn on something free and not 2$ a
minute.
A database is a collection of anything - meaning a database blissfully
passes on the chaos for us to deal with rather than presenting a more
logical/understandable front like the web (humour intended). This
character has also blurred the contours of a database. Most small
databases are merely digested versions of small books and directories,
often made available to you at 50 cents a page. Of course, large
databases are just hard to conceive, let alone describe.
Word-searchable libraries? World knowledge snapshots? Commercial
information marketing firms go further and group similar databases
together into massive multi-database topic searches with phenomenal
power.
A Myriad of Databases
A primary difficulty comes from the sheer number of databases in
existence today. To get a feel for the size of this industry, stop by a
large library and ask for the Gale Directory of Databases Volume 1: the
partially definitive listing of global databases. The absolute number
will astound you. This also explains why some of us are so excited
about internet development. Just making the existing databases more
easily available will transform our society. The Information age is
just starting.
Database Quality
All research is guided by the resources at hand. Most amateur
researchers suffer because they have very few resources at hand (or
think they do). Research is also guided by the budget, the time and
perhaps the skill. When selecting research databases, try to be aware
of three further factors:
Coverage
Research here is easiest on Australian, British and American resources.
This may be unfortunate or of little consequence, but does bear
consideration. Many large databases are also large only because of
their range of information. Which is better, searching 6000 magazines
or 600 business magazines. Depends on the research topic.
Definitive
There are many databases which can claim definitive coverage but there
are many more which should be kept in reserve. Just like the internet,
a researcher is not expected to look at everything relevant, just
enough to get to the solution.
Size
Global Textline was a database of phenomenal size, indexing text from
over a hundred newspapers globally, reaching back many years.
Australian Education Index (AEI) includes the contents of a small book
of Education related theses abstracts. Each topic may only include 10
relevant theses over 5 years. Size is a thus linked to database value.
Searching Global Textline will always turn up leads. AEI will not.
Selecting a Database
Despite the factual nature of information research, word of mouth
appears to be tremendously important in choosing databases. Some guides
do describe the quality of various databases, and make valuable
suggestions, but such guides also age rapidly as new products emerge. A
rough understanding may emerge with practice. Our advice appears in
other articles.
___________________________________________________
Discussion Groups
links and more at http://spireproject.com/discuss.htm
Mailing Lists, Newsgroups, Associations - each are focal points of
discussion, exchange of information and professional development.
Sometimes called Special Interest Groups (SIGs), these are the original
sources of many fine research resources. Brilliant research sites in
their own right, a mailing list, newsgroup or association can also be a
fine contact point for experts, or the site of focused, specialized
libraries.
The copyright mailing list is a group of more than 100 lawyers who
focus on copyright. This list, and their Copyright FAQ, are the best
resources on copyright law in the world; current, factual, and
peer-reviewed. This is not unusual for a mailing list. As a source of
experts, I once found an accomplished but poorly published scientist
from an old message in a mailing list archive.
Having said this, discussion groups are not organized for casual
searching. Even when discussion is archived and searchable, finding and
searching past discussion tends to be difficult. There is more to this
resource than just asking a question but the other options are not
simple.
Mailing Lists
* Tile.Net/Lists (http://tile.net/lists/) has a fine index of mailing
lists.
* Liszt is the second place to look.
* The Directory of Scholarly and Professional E-Conferences, known also
as the Kovacs Lists is third.
* subject guides listed in the Argus Clearinghouse also refer to
relevant mailing lists.
Search several list directories for more rewarding results. Also keep
in mind some lists have too little or too much traffic for your
purpose. Find a list with a manageable number of messages and a wide
enough membership. This takes a little effort in interrogating the list
management software for the number of forum members, a look at past
discussion, perhaps a look for supporting websites.
Newsgroups
If you have a newsgroup reader, you have a file called news.rc on your
computer which lists all the available on your computer. List.com also
has a searchable list of newsgroups. Duke University can help you find
additional newsgroups that exist but require you to ask your ISP to
bring in.
A more effective approach is to undertake a search of past newsgroup
posts and select from the response a list of likely newsgroups to
consider. Altavista allows searches of recent newsgroup messages.
Deja.com has an even larger archive (to before March '95).
Another option is to search for an FAQ (like this one). Most summarize
past discussion on successful newsgroups. The FAQ may be a brilliant
informative document in itself, or the definitive pointer to further
tools and resources. By virtue of its public origin, FAQs are far more
likely to attract the peer review often very lacking from other
resources. They are also open invitations to communicate with the
knowledgeable FAQ maintainers.
* FAQs can be searched by title by sites like Oxford University and
Universiteit Utrecht (Netherlands), or if you know a newsgroup, visit
an html FAQ archive like the one at http://www.faqs.org
Associations
Associations are more involved than their internet companion.
Associations are also more into paper publishing, conferencing and
collating specialist statistics. As an example, the Australian
Booksellers Association publishes the best benchmark statistics on this
topic. When approaching an association, consider asking for their
publications list.
Directory of Associations are national directories. The [US]
Encyclopedia of Associations is produced by Gale Research. The
Directory of Australian Associations is the definitive Australian
source. Directory of Associations in Canada. Directory of Association
of Asia.
Some association directories have emerged online, like Directory of the
American Society of Association Executives. Unfortunately, the database
is small & Americanocentric. A search for 'book' did get me the address
of the American Booksellers Association, but not others. Of course if
you have a name, you could also use a meta-search engine like
Debriefing. Alternatively, the Library of Congress Online Catalogue
allows us to search for association as an author.
Conclusions
There are three important research applications for mailing lists.1)
Research through past discussion, 2) Directly ask members for
assistance, 3) Become a participative member to pick up and exchange
information. On a personal side, mailing lists are easy to use and a
minimal investment in time (the information comes to you). However,
mailing lists are difficult to develop and maintain. Few reach the
potential brilliance of this form of communication, so many of the
forums you come across will be non-existent or on their death-bed.
Mailing lists depend on four vital ingredients - Content,
Participation, IT-support, and Management. Often, one of these go wrong
and the forum dies. As a member, there are important obligations
starting with participation, and ending with forum etiquette.
The better forums are private. Membership is not automatic, the list
manager has more control, and often, more control and effort is
expended developing interesting content and discussion. If you find a
closed or private forum, persevere.
Associations
When a group of like-minded individuals come together to achieve an
aim, they often create an association. What better place to research.
Even better, associations often interpret their purpose as a place to
pool and distribute information. Larger associations often maintain a
small library of their own and many associations publish documents
about their area of interest. Furthermore, if you are seeking an expert
in a given field, associations are sure to have one, or two, or many.
For the smaller associations, be polite but firm in describing your
interest and be ready to buy whatever small book they do publish in
your quest for further information.
The FAQ
An FAQ is created to enhance the discussion of a newsgroup. After a
time, the initial members of a newsgroup would have discussed many of
the standard topics to death, which newcomers will still find
interesting. To prevent only discussing introductory topics (and
annoying long-term members) an FAQ is created to record answers to
standard questions.
Because one of the primary functions of a special interest group is
resource discovery - and because FAQs are collectively created, they
are valuable and generally reliable. I consider the Official Copyright
FAQ the best document in the world on copyright law.
As an aside, many FAQs are also available as web pages. Trouble is,
without an system to vet true newsgroup FAQs, you are far more likely
to encounter FAQs which have not been vetted by the news.answers team.
The Official Copyright FAQ is 70+ pages of topical and factual detail
with links to further information. There are several other copyright
FAQs with less than 10 pages, (and not particularly concerned with
providing information). Access an established FAQ archive for your
FAQs. www.faqs.org has a small list (http://www.faqs.org/#FAQHTML).
Another longer list resides midway down this document
(http://www.faqs.org/faqs/news-answers/introduction).
Special interest groups are problematic because the task of preparing
and presenting guidance is secondary to their main aims. Those that do
actively publish do so through books (with the association as the
author) or articles or newsprint... Sometimes, as in mailing lists,
almost as an afterthought, past discussion is indexed and searchable.
This situation is not likely to change. Technology could potentially
aggregate past discussion from many mailing lists, but too much
commercialism would swiftly kill open discussion. Then again, existing
efforts like the archive of the business librarians list have taken a
very proprietary view of messages within their discussion. Notice also
that a database of newsletters failed commercially a few years back for
lack of interest. No dramatic improvements are likely to emerge from
this direction.
___________________________________________________
The Library
links and more at http://spireproject.com/library.htm
Libraries are integral parts to the research process if for no other
reason than public funds are used to buy the expensive research tools
you will occasionally use. More and more libraries are extending their
reference collections to include CD-ROMs and computer resources.
Specialty libraries are special. Focus allows for far greater expertise
and innovative research resources. Specialty libraries are prime
research venues, and specialty librarians are considerable reservoirs
of research expertise. All government agencies, and many large
corporations & wealthy associations, have specialty libraries. While
many may not invite public access, almost all are universally open to
you.
* Very large libraries, by virtue of their sheer size, become important
research resources. This would include the US Library of Congress, the
British Library, the [UK] COPAC unified library catalogue, the National
Library of Australia, and the National Library of Canada.
* To find a specific library websites, visit either Libweb
(http://sunsite.Berkeley.edu/Libweb/ ) or Libdex
(http://www.libdex.com) or a few other link sites.
* A directory of specialist libraries will direct you to the highly
focused libraries found within corporate, association or government
organizations. An Australian directory exists online. The Directory of
Special Libraries in Australia by ALIA is the definitive source.
American Library Directory is a commercial database and probably a
print directory too.
Note: All these libraries will probably let you access information - if
you come asking kindly with specific information in mind. Always ask
how you would gain access, and assume access is possible (though not
policy).
There are also a collection of mixed information directories which are
research-worthy. Croner's A-Z of [UK] Business Information Sources and
the Aslib Directory of Information Sources in the United Kingdom are
prominent examples. These directories appear to be less than definitive
but the ASLIB Directory (the larger of the two at 1500+ pages) is
certainly something to behold. Aslib, under the subject "Egypt" lists
the British Museum, the Egypt Exploration Society, the Tutankhamun
Exhibition, and the York College of Further & Higher Education - all
with really good contact details.
___________________________________________________
Zines, Magazines & Journals
links and more at http://spireproject.com/period.htm
Zines, Magazines, Journals and Newsletters; each incorporate the
valuable services of quality control, editorial input, and focus.
Newsprint, though similar in concept, is best dealt with separately.
The trouble with using periodicals in research is their unfocussed view
of the world. Reading through a topical periodical is such a passive
approach to finding information. The information is likely to be
interesting, but hardly likely to answer your questions. At best, you
are 'keeping up-to-date' in your field.
The solution to this is the database search of either full-text or
bibliographic/abstract information from a great many periodicals.
Before we reach for the database search, let us run through the ways to
find periodicals.
* Zines are listed in three primary online directories: John Labovitz's
E-Zine-list, the NewJour mailing list, the ARL Directory of Electronic
Journals, and by browsing some of the university zine collections.
* Print periodicals are listed in three primary directories: Ulrich's
International Periodical Directory, EBSCO's Serial Directory, and
Newsletters in Print, and by browsing the periodical collections of
primary libraries like the Library of Congress.
* A few further online lists of periodicals exist like one for US
magazines and another for Australian Magazines.
Since periodicals are a passive form of research, a search for
promising periodicals is not the usual way of doing a search.
Organizations will often subscribe to promising periodicals then
circulate them among interested parties, facilitating the passive
collection of information.
The directories above represent one way to find promising periodicals.
A better way is to search the databases for promising articles, then
paying attention to promising periodicals which appear frequently.
___________________________________________________
This document continues as Part 4/6
___________________________________________________
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Copyright: (c) 2001 David Novak
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Information Research FAQ (Part 3/6)
100 pages of search techniques, tactics and theory
by David Novak of the Spire Project (SpireProject.com)
Welcome. This FAQ addresses information literacy; the skills, tools and
theory of information research. Particular attention is paid to the
role of the internet as both a reservoir and gateway to information
resources.
The FAQ is written like a book, with a narrative and pictures. You have
found your way to part three, so do backtrack to the beginning. If you
are lost, this FAQ always resides as text at
http://spireproject.com/faq.txt and http://spireproject.co.uk/faq.txt
and with pictures at http://spireproject.com/faq.htm
This FAQ is an element of the Spire Project http://spireproject.com,
the primary free reference for information research and an important
resource for search assistance.
*** The Spire Project also includes a 3 hour public seminar titled
*** Exceptional Internet Research. This is a fast paced seminar
*** supported with a great deal of webbing, reaching to skills and
*** research concepts beyond the ground covered on our website and
*** this FAQ. http://spireproject.com/seminar.htm has a synopsis.
*** I am in Europe, seminaring in Ireland and Europe though I
*** will be returning to the US shortly, and South Australia for
*** a seminar this October.
Enjoy,
David Novak - ***@spireproject.com
The Spire Project : SpireProject.com and SpireProject.co.uk
NOTE FOR RETURN READERS: previously, we prepared this section by
converting work originally prepared in html. This became unproductive
so we have limited the internet links in this FAQ and direct you to the
more lengthy articles prepared in html. All the required links and
search tool forms reside in other parts of the Spire Project, like the
websites and free shareware
(http://spireproject.com/spire_latest_version.zip).
Information Venues
Section 5
At the successful completion of his work in Nubia, Shakh was invited to
travel to Babylon as the assistant to the new ambassador. It had been
many years since Egyptians were in official contact with the residents
of the two rivers. All trade had been conducted through the Phoenicians
living along the Mediterranean coast. With these cities captured by the
Assyrians, new trade links were needed.
The journey took much longer than Shakh had expected. Leaving Egypt in
a simple boat, it took many months to reach the shores of Lebanon,
where the tall cedar trees grew. These trees, essential to crafting
fine sea-worthy ships, was just one of the items sought by the
Egyptians.
Within two weeks of their arrival in the Assyrian capitol Nineveh, the
Ambassador fell ill and died. Without guidance, 18 months journey from
Egypt, Shakh stepped into the position.
His first task was to gather information both of the officials best to
approach, and of Egyptian goods most likely to interest the Assyrians.
With few local contacts, Shakh set about building connections with
other governments, dining with export officials, collecting information
about how other governments had succeeded and failed in their trade
requests with the Assyrians. Shakh knew success would depend on
approaching the most practical of officials while delicately
side-stepping the wishes of the officials who threatened, or felt
threatened, by Egypt.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
While it may be practical to divide all information into a collection
of formats, information is also organized by others for our benefit.
Libraries, commercial databases, journals, information archives, each
of these venues will assist you to find particular information. The
information is already gathered together, classified and organized for
your benefit. As a skilled researcher, you must be proficient in
finding information from these resources.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
United Nations Information
links and more at http://spireproject.com/un.htm
"The United Nations is involved in every aspect of international life -
from peace-keeping to the environment, from children's rights to air
safety. ... The UN system generates an enormous amount of information
on some of the most pressing issues the world faces ... press releases,
video and photographic footage, publications, briefing papers, etc."
Samir Sanbar, A Guide to Information at the United Nations.
United Nations documents are a recognized authority for any number of
international issues: social, legal and political. You certainly will
not be chastised for quoting United Nations statistics. Critical to
research, the UN is a collection of almost autonomous organizations
(called organs) with occasionally overlapping responsibilities,
distinct websites, and recorded as distinct publishers. As you approach
UN information, remember this is not a monolithic organization with
clearly defined roles. All drug efforts are not coordinated by the
UNDCP and all statistical work is not undertaken by the UN Statistical
Division.
UN Internet Resources
The UN website at www.un.org is just one entry point to UN information.
Of note, it contains a searchable archive of UN press releases
stretching back to 1995, 7 days of press briefings, an archive section
and information about UN publications. The real tool to use is UNIONS
(http://www3.itu.int/unions/search.cgi), a meta-search engine for many
of the larger UN organ websites.
UN Library Resources
The UN is an accomplished publisher, through their sales lists is not
particularly large. It is just that anything they do publish is of a
very high standard. Many documents are generated by the numerous
meetings and efforts, so there is a second style of publishing, called
Masthead or UNDoc documents, that are usually just photocopies. UNDoc
are found in a collection of UN depository libraries around the world.
(There is a good list at http://www.un.org/MoreInfo/Deplib/). Thus we
have the UNDoc primary source documents and UN Sales Documents, given a
sales document number and sold and shelved in libraries as books.
S/1997/742/Add.1, Report of the Secretary-General on the situation
concerning Western Sahara: a brief breakdown of the estimated costs for
completing the voter identification process in Western Sahara.
Other documents have wider appeal...
E.96.I.5, The United Nations and the International Tribunals for the
former Yugoslavia and Rwanda - UN Blue Book Series
S/1997/742/Add.1, Abortion Policies: A Global Review, Population
studies No. 129: A three volume, 650 page country-by-country look at
abortion.
You can use the US Library of Congress Online Catalogue for a good
approximate search of UN Sales documents. A search of UNDoc documents
requires one of three comprehensive databases, like UN-Bis Plus, though
you can also get the numbers to specific documents through UN
periodicals like the Yearbook of the United Nations and the United
Nations Chronicle.
With 300+ shelves of UN documents at depository libraries, the UNDoc
files are excellent records to history. The UNDoc Current Index (ceased
publication in 1996) is an extensive quarterly directory (of the
non-cumulative kind) just for this purpose.
Further tools are available to help the dedicated searcher, like
focused indexes and an annual list of current sales documents (also
online).
Trouble with Age
United Nations publications do suffer time lags. The best documents
appear well after the curve of public interest. Primary UNDOC documents
will take up to 6 months before becoming available at a UN depository
library and the Sales Documents are compiled after this. On the
positive side, UN archives frequently extend back to the 1950s.
Information Theory
The UN has existed since the 1950s. The systems established to manage
and distribute access to UN publications is at once both highly
sophisticated and out-of-date. It is truly amazing to see 300 shelves
of UN documents (a very big room mainly filled with stapled
photocopies).
At the same time, it is only a matter of time before the whole concept
of UN depository library is translated online. There is such potential
savings (there are 359 depository libraries in the world but the UN
pays for one in each country) and such an improvement in access.
All the links and a few of the forms for searching UN information
reside at http://spireproject.com/un.htm
___________________________________________________
Government Information
links and more at http://spireproject.com/gov.htm
We pay a high price in both direct and indirect taxes for our
government. These are intelligent people, paid to be informed.
Government experts and documents are thus generally detailed, factual
and reliable ... and helpful. It should not surprise you that
government documents have a high quality, tend to have a little problem
with time.
Central to finding government information on the web is the way the
clear organizational structure is replicated online. Each country will
have a primary website with links to the websites of each national
government department. Each state will have a primary website with
links to the websites of each state government department. Each
department website will link to all sub-departments. If you wanted to
see the website for the New Zealand statistical agency, just visit the
New Zealand government website, then look for the statistical agency.
If you wanted to see the website for the Mississippi government agency
responsible for childcare, just visit the US government website, find
Mississippi, then look for an agency that might be responsible for the
family, then keep clicking till you find the page you need.
With a little more maturity, many corporate website were redesigned to
present answers as they are needed by the visitors - instead of having
marketing, accounting and distribution directories, websites were
rearranged to have sections for customer sales, investor relations and
distributor relations. Government website have begun the transformation
too, with websites serving the perceived needs of visitors. Clever
sites will present both structures but some will have an alternative
structure linking you through to the agency website.
* There are two fine internet directories of international government
websites, one by the University of Michigan Documents Center, another
by the University of Southern California.
* There is a specialized, government-only webpage search engine called
GovBot as developed by The Center for Intelligent Information Retrieval
(CIIR). Altavista and All-the-Web also let you restrict a large global
search to a specific domain. This allows you to search just for .gov
sites.
* Government Publications are effectively organized in a national
publication database. The US MOCAT database (Monthly Catalog of US
Government Publications), the Australian AGIP (Australian Government
Index of Publications (AGIP) and the United Kingdom Stationery Office
publications list are all free online.
For information not available, many nations permit Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests. This essentially forces government agencies
to release information they can not justify keeping secret. FOI
requests may cost you a token fee (and is often less for members of the
media). The Electronic Frontiers Foundation (EFF) maintains a good FOI
archive (http://www.eff.org/Activism/FOIA/), as does the Society of
Professional Journalists (http://spj.org/foia/index.htm).
___________________________________________________
Commercial Databases
links and more at http://spireproject.com/database.htm
Commercial databases are simply collections of information presented
electronically. Databases range in size from simple books made
searchable, to several billion records in the larger news databases.
The retail database industry is obscure. Costs are highly variable and
difficult to determine in advance. Products with the same name may
contain different information. Databases are frequently combined into
larger collections of databases, (also called databases,) often several
times, so an individual magazine or database may exist within several
databases and several collections.
Within this confusion are a collection of definitive, must-search
databases. Definitive databases are determined by successful marketing.
Not necessarily the 'best', nor most useful, but the market-successful
become definitive resources. From there, success breeds further value.
Such databases will be invaluable in your search for answers. More
discussion on the database industry can be found in section 9 of this
FAQ.
Free Databases
At the edge of the database industry are a number of prominent
databases that have emerged as free databases, delivered over the
internet directly from their source. Look briefly at some of these
databases:
* ERIC, (Education Resources Information Center) is presented by the
[US] National Library of Education. Established in 1966, ERIC is one of
the cornerstone databases for the education field and provides
citations & abstracts to education-related literature.
* CRIS, (Current Research Information System) is produced by the US
Dept of Agriculture (USDA) and includes Canadian, USDA, and Czech
agriculture, food and forestry research. Projects sponsored by these or
affiliated agencies are included
* Agricola is produced by the [US] National Agricultural Library and
its cooperators. This is an important bibliographic database covering
agriculture and all the related disciplines (including forestry &
agri-business & alternative agriculture). Started in 1970, this has
become an important database limited only by its bibliographic nature.
* Thomas, presented by the [US] Library of Congress, delivers US
legislative information (including Congress, Representatives, Senate &
the many committee reports).
* EDGAR, produced by the (US) Securities and Exchange Commission,
delivers all public US company submissions as required by law. The
information is factual and numerical - and includes both current and
past submissions.
* MOCAT, UKOP and AGIP are the US, UK and Australian government
publication databases
* The Library of Congress, The British Library, and The National
Library of Australia card catalogues can be searched online.
* Medline is produced by the [US] National Library of Medicine and
delivers references to all areas of medicine (including nursing,
dentistry, nutrition), with some abstracts.
* The United States Department of Energy (DOE) publishes The DOE
Information Bridge, a database with full-text and bibliographic records
of DOE-sponsored research and development. Covers research projects in
energy sciences and technology.
* BIOGRAPHY(r) Online is published at www.biography.com and includes
15000+ biographical abstracts - but most are really really short.
For more free bibliographic databases, I strongly suggest you read
Bases de données gratuites (http://urfist.univ-lyon1.fr/gratuits.html)
by Jean-Pierre Lardy. This directory has over 200 entries! Use the
Altavista Babelfish to have a look at it.
All Databases
Gale Research produces the Gale Directory of Databases (in 2 volumes).
This is the definitive listing of databases in the world, for the
moment. Most large libraries will have a copy. New editions are
released every 6 months.
There are also smaller, more focused directories like Fulltext Sources
Online published by Information Today or The Directory of Australian
and New Zealand Databases by the Australian Database Development
Association (ADDA).
Database Industry
You will access commercial databases through one of five basic sources.
1_ From a Commercial Database Retailer,
2_ From alternatively funded (free) internet sources,
3_ Through a Library or other venue with a site license,
4_ With the help of an Information Professional (searching for you),
5_ Directly from the source with a personal subscription.
Consider the Commercial Database Retailer as the department store of
the information market. The industry is dominated by a handful of
dedicated retailers like The Dialog Corporation, Lexis-Nexis, and
InfoMart. Other retailers focus on certain types of databases.
Retailers select the databases they carry, and enjoy mark-ups in the
region of 300% to 400% from which they provide customer service,
support and promotion. So very much service and promotion is provided
that these retail giants hold a pivotal role in the distribution of
commercial databases.
The most important selection tool for databases is the database
description. These are factual, accurate descriptions of what each
database includes and how they can be searched.
Many of the database descriptions are online. To facilitate finding
these, we have added links here and in other articles. Further
descriptions may be available from retailer websites.
A list of database retailers follow.
* The Dialog Corporation (http://www.dialog.com), a merger of Dialog,
Datastar and M.A.I.D. The largest database retailer by far, the
databases are general.
* Lexis-Nexis especially carries full text and legal research
databases.
* Questel/Orbit specializes in patent and technical science databases
* EINS (European Information Network Services) appears offer discount
access to technical databases.
* Infomart Dialog (Canada) has Canadian coverage with many of the
Dialog databases.
* FT Profile is the information wing of Financial Times (UK).
There are further database retailers specifically focused on the
library market like OCLC's FirstSearch. Further databases are focused
on business needs, like DowJones and Dun & Bradstreet.
In addition, there are always the individual databases which undertake
the difficult task of retailing by themselves.
Conclusion
Databases are complex structures based on the inverted index and on a
range of search technologies including Boolean terms, truncation,
complex limits, descriptors, filters, ranking and more. Certainly the
technology is becoming easier to use (look at the Reuters Business
Briefing for state of the art), but there is still much to learn. An
experienced searcher will locate far better results than a novice.
However, an uninvolved searcher has a handicap, both in price and
language. Sometimes it is wise to get help searching a database,
sometimes it is not.
The commercial database industry is shifting to use the internet as the
preferred delivery vehicle. Considerable changes are coming too - not
the least a tumble in the price of information.
Another change is a move towards full text databases. Some databases
include only bibliographic information, many provide abstracts, but
only a small fraction include full text. This will frustrate you deeply
as full text databases are so very very convenient.
Researching databases is incredibly difficult and cumbersome. They
challenge the mind, stretch far beyond the simple skills of searching
the internet, and since every minute is expensive, there is much added
pressure.
But this is a skill like any other. Practice with the databases of your
local research university at an off-peak time (mornings are good) and
using the CD-ROM versions - learn on something free and not 2$ a
minute.
A database is a collection of anything - meaning a database blissfully
passes on the chaos for us to deal with rather than presenting a more
logical/understandable front like the web (humour intended). This
character has also blurred the contours of a database. Most small
databases are merely digested versions of small books and directories,
often made available to you at 50 cents a page. Of course, large
databases are just hard to conceive, let alone describe.
Word-searchable libraries? World knowledge snapshots? Commercial
information marketing firms go further and group similar databases
together into massive multi-database topic searches with phenomenal
power.
A Myriad of Databases
A primary difficulty comes from the sheer number of databases in
existence today. To get a feel for the size of this industry, stop by a
large library and ask for the Gale Directory of Databases Volume 1: the
partially definitive listing of global databases. The absolute number
will astound you. This also explains why some of us are so excited
about internet development. Just making the existing databases more
easily available will transform our society. The Information age is
just starting.
Database Quality
All research is guided by the resources at hand. Most amateur
researchers suffer because they have very few resources at hand (or
think they do). Research is also guided by the budget, the time and
perhaps the skill. When selecting research databases, try to be aware
of three further factors:
Coverage
Research here is easiest on Australian, British and American resources.
This may be unfortunate or of little consequence, but does bear
consideration. Many large databases are also large only because of
their range of information. Which is better, searching 6000 magazines
or 600 business magazines. Depends on the research topic.
Definitive
There are many databases which can claim definitive coverage but there
are many more which should be kept in reserve. Just like the internet,
a researcher is not expected to look at everything relevant, just
enough to get to the solution.
Size
Global Textline was a database of phenomenal size, indexing text from
over a hundred newspapers globally, reaching back many years.
Australian Education Index (AEI) includes the contents of a small book
of Education related theses abstracts. Each topic may only include 10
relevant theses over 5 years. Size is a thus linked to database value.
Searching Global Textline will always turn up leads. AEI will not.
Selecting a Database
Despite the factual nature of information research, word of mouth
appears to be tremendously important in choosing databases. Some guides
do describe the quality of various databases, and make valuable
suggestions, but such guides also age rapidly as new products emerge. A
rough understanding may emerge with practice. Our advice appears in
other articles.
___________________________________________________
Discussion Groups
links and more at http://spireproject.com/discuss.htm
Mailing Lists, Newsgroups, Associations - each are focal points of
discussion, exchange of information and professional development.
Sometimes called Special Interest Groups (SIGs), these are the original
sources of many fine research resources. Brilliant research sites in
their own right, a mailing list, newsgroup or association can also be a
fine contact point for experts, or the site of focused, specialized
libraries.
The copyright mailing list is a group of more than 100 lawyers who
focus on copyright. This list, and their Copyright FAQ, are the best
resources on copyright law in the world; current, factual, and
peer-reviewed. This is not unusual for a mailing list. As a source of
experts, I once found an accomplished but poorly published scientist
from an old message in a mailing list archive.
Having said this, discussion groups are not organized for casual
searching. Even when discussion is archived and searchable, finding and
searching past discussion tends to be difficult. There is more to this
resource than just asking a question but the other options are not
simple.
Mailing Lists
* Tile.Net/Lists (http://tile.net/lists/) has a fine index of mailing
lists.
* Liszt is the second place to look.
* The Directory of Scholarly and Professional E-Conferences, known also
as the Kovacs Lists is third.
* subject guides listed in the Argus Clearinghouse also refer to
relevant mailing lists.
Search several list directories for more rewarding results. Also keep
in mind some lists have too little or too much traffic for your
purpose. Find a list with a manageable number of messages and a wide
enough membership. This takes a little effort in interrogating the list
management software for the number of forum members, a look at past
discussion, perhaps a look for supporting websites.
Newsgroups
If you have a newsgroup reader, you have a file called news.rc on your
computer which lists all the available on your computer. List.com also
has a searchable list of newsgroups. Duke University can help you find
additional newsgroups that exist but require you to ask your ISP to
bring in.
A more effective approach is to undertake a search of past newsgroup
posts and select from the response a list of likely newsgroups to
consider. Altavista allows searches of recent newsgroup messages.
Deja.com has an even larger archive (to before March '95).
Another option is to search for an FAQ (like this one). Most summarize
past discussion on successful newsgroups. The FAQ may be a brilliant
informative document in itself, or the definitive pointer to further
tools and resources. By virtue of its public origin, FAQs are far more
likely to attract the peer review often very lacking from other
resources. They are also open invitations to communicate with the
knowledgeable FAQ maintainers.
* FAQs can be searched by title by sites like Oxford University and
Universiteit Utrecht (Netherlands), or if you know a newsgroup, visit
an html FAQ archive like the one at http://www.faqs.org
Associations
Associations are more involved than their internet companion.
Associations are also more into paper publishing, conferencing and
collating specialist statistics. As an example, the Australian
Booksellers Association publishes the best benchmark statistics on this
topic. When approaching an association, consider asking for their
publications list.
Directory of Associations are national directories. The [US]
Encyclopedia of Associations is produced by Gale Research. The
Directory of Australian Associations is the definitive Australian
source. Directory of Associations in Canada. Directory of Association
of Asia.
Some association directories have emerged online, like Directory of the
American Society of Association Executives. Unfortunately, the database
is small & Americanocentric. A search for 'book' did get me the address
of the American Booksellers Association, but not others. Of course if
you have a name, you could also use a meta-search engine like
Debriefing. Alternatively, the Library of Congress Online Catalogue
allows us to search for association as an author.
Conclusions
There are three important research applications for mailing lists.1)
Research through past discussion, 2) Directly ask members for
assistance, 3) Become a participative member to pick up and exchange
information. On a personal side, mailing lists are easy to use and a
minimal investment in time (the information comes to you). However,
mailing lists are difficult to develop and maintain. Few reach the
potential brilliance of this form of communication, so many of the
forums you come across will be non-existent or on their death-bed.
Mailing lists depend on four vital ingredients - Content,
Participation, IT-support, and Management. Often, one of these go wrong
and the forum dies. As a member, there are important obligations
starting with participation, and ending with forum etiquette.
The better forums are private. Membership is not automatic, the list
manager has more control, and often, more control and effort is
expended developing interesting content and discussion. If you find a
closed or private forum, persevere.
Associations
When a group of like-minded individuals come together to achieve an
aim, they often create an association. What better place to research.
Even better, associations often interpret their purpose as a place to
pool and distribute information. Larger associations often maintain a
small library of their own and many associations publish documents
about their area of interest. Furthermore, if you are seeking an expert
in a given field, associations are sure to have one, or two, or many.
For the smaller associations, be polite but firm in describing your
interest and be ready to buy whatever small book they do publish in
your quest for further information.
The FAQ
An FAQ is created to enhance the discussion of a newsgroup. After a
time, the initial members of a newsgroup would have discussed many of
the standard topics to death, which newcomers will still find
interesting. To prevent only discussing introductory topics (and
annoying long-term members) an FAQ is created to record answers to
standard questions.
Because one of the primary functions of a special interest group is
resource discovery - and because FAQs are collectively created, they
are valuable and generally reliable. I consider the Official Copyright
FAQ the best document in the world on copyright law.
As an aside, many FAQs are also available as web pages. Trouble is,
without an system to vet true newsgroup FAQs, you are far more likely
to encounter FAQs which have not been vetted by the news.answers team.
The Official Copyright FAQ is 70+ pages of topical and factual detail
with links to further information. There are several other copyright
FAQs with less than 10 pages, (and not particularly concerned with
providing information). Access an established FAQ archive for your
FAQs. www.faqs.org has a small list (http://www.faqs.org/#FAQHTML).
Another longer list resides midway down this document
(http://www.faqs.org/faqs/news-answers/introduction).
Special interest groups are problematic because the task of preparing
and presenting guidance is secondary to their main aims. Those that do
actively publish do so through books (with the association as the
author) or articles or newsprint... Sometimes, as in mailing lists,
almost as an afterthought, past discussion is indexed and searchable.
This situation is not likely to change. Technology could potentially
aggregate past discussion from many mailing lists, but too much
commercialism would swiftly kill open discussion. Then again, existing
efforts like the archive of the business librarians list have taken a
very proprietary view of messages within their discussion. Notice also
that a database of newsletters failed commercially a few years back for
lack of interest. No dramatic improvements are likely to emerge from
this direction.
___________________________________________________
The Library
links and more at http://spireproject.com/library.htm
Libraries are integral parts to the research process if for no other
reason than public funds are used to buy the expensive research tools
you will occasionally use. More and more libraries are extending their
reference collections to include CD-ROMs and computer resources.
Specialty libraries are special. Focus allows for far greater expertise
and innovative research resources. Specialty libraries are prime
research venues, and specialty librarians are considerable reservoirs
of research expertise. All government agencies, and many large
corporations & wealthy associations, have specialty libraries. While
many may not invite public access, almost all are universally open to
you.
* Very large libraries, by virtue of their sheer size, become important
research resources. This would include the US Library of Congress, the
British Library, the [UK] COPAC unified library catalogue, the National
Library of Australia, and the National Library of Canada.
* To find a specific library websites, visit either Libweb
(http://sunsite.Berkeley.edu/Libweb/ ) or Libdex
(http://www.libdex.com) or a few other link sites.
* A directory of specialist libraries will direct you to the highly
focused libraries found within corporate, association or government
organizations. An Australian directory exists online. The Directory of
Special Libraries in Australia by ALIA is the definitive source.
American Library Directory is a commercial database and probably a
print directory too.
Note: All these libraries will probably let you access information - if
you come asking kindly with specific information in mind. Always ask
how you would gain access, and assume access is possible (though not
policy).
There are also a collection of mixed information directories which are
research-worthy. Croner's A-Z of [UK] Business Information Sources and
the Aslib Directory of Information Sources in the United Kingdom are
prominent examples. These directories appear to be less than definitive
but the ASLIB Directory (the larger of the two at 1500+ pages) is
certainly something to behold. Aslib, under the subject "Egypt" lists
the British Museum, the Egypt Exploration Society, the Tutankhamun
Exhibition, and the York College of Further & Higher Education - all
with really good contact details.
___________________________________________________
Zines, Magazines & Journals
links and more at http://spireproject.com/period.htm
Zines, Magazines, Journals and Newsletters; each incorporate the
valuable services of quality control, editorial input, and focus.
Newsprint, though similar in concept, is best dealt with separately.
The trouble with using periodicals in research is their unfocussed view
of the world. Reading through a topical periodical is such a passive
approach to finding information. The information is likely to be
interesting, but hardly likely to answer your questions. At best, you
are 'keeping up-to-date' in your field.
The solution to this is the database search of either full-text or
bibliographic/abstract information from a great many periodicals.
Before we reach for the database search, let us run through the ways to
find periodicals.
* Zines are listed in three primary online directories: John Labovitz's
E-Zine-list, the NewJour mailing list, the ARL Directory of Electronic
Journals, and by browsing some of the university zine collections.
* Print periodicals are listed in three primary directories: Ulrich's
International Periodical Directory, EBSCO's Serial Directory, and
Newsletters in Print, and by browsing the periodical collections of
primary libraries like the Library of Congress.
* A few further online lists of periodicals exist like one for US
magazines and another for Australian Magazines.
Since periodicals are a passive form of research, a search for
promising periodicals is not the usual way of doing a search.
Organizations will often subscribe to promising periodicals then
circulate them among interested parties, facilitating the passive
collection of information.
The directories above represent one way to find promising periodicals.
A better way is to search the databases for promising articles, then
paying attention to promising periodicals which appear frequently.
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This document continues as Part 4/6
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