Research

Overview
Here I cover how to
 * scope what sources you will need
 * learn the historiographical context of your own research
 * locate possible sources
 * obtain the sources you need
 * obtain useful background knowledge about the world of information and how it works
 * take notes effectively and efficiently
 * obtain the needed citations.

Scoping the sources
You need to assemble an "adequate research base" for your investigation. This means that you must first learn what a good set of sources would be, and then gain access to an adequate subset of them.

Depending on your topic, there may be many potential sources, or too few. If the latter, you need to discover this asap, and perhaps change topics. If the former, you have a very different kind of problem: you need to focus your attention on the ones that are most valuable and screen out relatively useless ones.

I recommend that you use a tool similar to the spreadsheet table I provide [|here]. On this spreadsheet, I define columns that indicate valuable information for you to collect about possible sources that you identify. (If you decide to use the template I provide here, please make sure you "make a copy" before you rename it, or you will be eliminating the template for others!)
 * Title: Apart from the title, I put the year of publication here.
 * Author(s)
 * Value: "How valuable would this book be to my research, if cost were no object?" Here I use a 3-point scoring system: 1: Must have 2: Very useful 3: Nice to have
 * Library available? Use online catalogs of libraries available to you to find where this source may be available to you gratis, and note that here. If not, write "no".
 * List Pr: Here I note the retail price of this book at Amazon. You could also use another online bookstore.
 * Lowest: Here I note the lowest price of this book from an Amazon 3rd party seller. (Click on the "New from" and "Used from" buttons next to the "Amazon price" button"
 * Rating: "How valuable do I consider this book to be to my research, now that I know its cost?" Here I again use a 3-point scoring system: 1: Must have 2: Very useful 3: Nice to have
 * Buy if < Book prices fluctuate. Here I note a price at which I would be willing to buy this book in the future.
 * Comment: Up to you!
 * Resolution: Note what you ended up doing with regard to this source: Bought, borrowed, etc.

Learning the historiography of your topic
You may have many sources, but are they the right sources? And how do you know that they are? You learn this by understanding the historiography of your topic, which is another way of saying that you need to learn the "history of the history" of your topic: What previous historians (and other expert sources) have thought and written about it, so that you understand where your investigation might fit within their "Great Conversation".

Where can you learn about your topic's historiography? There are many potential sources. Here are some:
 * Wkikipedia: In Google, use the search word "historiography" coupled with your topic, or with a broad topic that includes your topic (e.g., if your topic is Napoleon's invasion of Russia, you could search for 'historiography' and 'Napoleon'.)


 * Amazon reader reviews: Look up books relevant to topic and then, on the Amazon page for them, look under "Reader Reviews".


 * Book reviews in intellectual periodicals. I find that I cannot rely on Google or even the library databases to identify relevant articles in these; there is no substitute for going to their own website and doing a search there. Note: some of these may be open only to subscribers or to those willing to pay a fee. However, check to see if they have a free "trial" period, which may be all you need anyway.
 * New York Review of Books
 * New Republic
 * Commentary
 * Atlantic
 * Economist
 * New York Times
 * Wall Street Journal


 * In the Introduction, or Preface of books on related topics.


 * Historical websites
 * HNN–History News Network, at hnn.us
 * H-Net Reviews, at http://www.h-net.org/reviews/home.php

Locating possible sources
Where can the possible sources you have identified above be found?


 * **Use WorldCat to find out**
 * [|WorldCat] is the world's largest network of library content and services.
 * WorldCat libraries are dedicated to providing access to their resources on the Web, where most people start their search for information.
 * Go directly to specific libraries, or databases, below.

Obtaining the sources you have targeted
How can you access the scholarly work you think you need? There are several possible ways. Some of the better ones are:
 * **Use an online collection or database**
 * Library databases. I recommend especially the ExpandedAcademic database.
 * JSTOR: A commercial service providing access to the largest collection of periodicals in history and other humanities. However, it offers only school subscriptions, and a very high price. WFS chooses not to have a subscription. If you want access that only JSTOR can offer, perhaps you can ask a friend or family member who has a professional link to a university library (like the U. of Delaware) that has an account.
 * Questia: Another commercial collection of periodicals, and books. However, this one has individual subscriptions, and they allow you to cancel the annual subscription at any time. So you can access it in a concentrated way for only a few dollars.


 * **Borrow from a library**
 * New Castle County Library: Check the online catalog. If you can a library card, you can place a "hold" on a book you want, and have it delivered to your nearest branch library. Warning: it can take several days to get a book delivered. It appears that they send the truck out on Thursdays, and if an item doesn't make it for that, it has to wait another week.
 * University of Delaware. Do you or someone you know have a library card to UD libraries?
 * Pennsylvania libraries


 * **Purchase: Main sources I use:**
 * Amazon.com
 * Other country sites of Amazon (the UK site often has different books than the US)
 * Finding the cheapest online bookstore: Use the service www.addall.com, which looks for the cheapest source.

Obtaining useful background knowledge about the world of information and how it works
Here is [|a research librarian's compendium of basic information about information], and how it works.