Home

1 starting smart

2 choosing a topic

3 using the Milner Catalog

4 finding articles

5 evaluating sources

6 citing articles

7 using Search It

Table of Contents

Glossary

Help

Resources for Librarians and Educators, Credits

Selecting Sources Now that you know the wide range of sources available to you, how do you select the best one for your research?
If you need:	You might try:
Background or synthesized information, such as statistics on the number of children immunized against diseases in the United States or a short essay on terrorism	Encyclopedias
Comprehensive information, such as the history of the railroads or the CIA's influence on civil wars in South America.	Books
Popular articles about new movies or social trends	Magazines
Current information about a speech given yesterday by a public affairs executive employed at Caterpillar, Inc.	Newspapers or the Internet
Scholarly articles about the Chinese economy or stem cell research	Journals

 

For portions of the tutorial you'll need Adobe Flash player; download the Flash player if you don't already have it. If you have any problems, ask at the University Computer Help Desk 309-438-HELP (4357) or one of the Milner Library librarians.

Original I-Search ©2005 by Illinois State University's Milner Library. I-Search is based upon Searchpath
© by the Board of Trustees of Western Michigan University which incorporates material from TILT, a tutorial developed by the Digital Information Literacy Office for the University of Texas System Digital Library, ©1998-2004. This material may be reproduced, distributed, or incorporated only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Searchpath Open Publication License.