Books, Videos and Articles:
what are they good for anyway?
There are many
different types of resources
such as books, articles and videos
and they can be
either in a physical format
or an electronic format.
In any database,
including MultiSearch,
you may find any or
all of these resource types.
Each of them provides
a certain kind of information.
Look at your assignment to
determine what specific types
of resources you may require.
[Books & eBooks]
Let’s look at books and ebooks first.
They can be a great starting
point for background reading
because they often provide
an overview of your topic.
Books can help you to understand
how your topic is structured,
and what other topics may be related to it.
It’s easy to identify books
in your MultiSearch results list
by the image of the book’s cover
and the word “book” under the image.
In order to find a physical book in the library,
you need to know its Call Number,
which is the number on the spine of the book
that shows which campus
library it’s in, and its shelf location.
Ebooks will have a link in MultiSearch
that takes you to the entire book online.
[Videos]
The library offers DVDs as well as streamed video.
They provide a visual representation of your topic
and may be useful for presentations.
Depending on your learning style,
you may find it helpful to watch a video
and listen to its discussion of your topic.
Some streamed videos have closed captioning,
and some offer a transcript as well.
In MultiSearch, you can identify
video resources by the words
“Video Recording” under the image.
If you see the words “Online Access,”
you’ll know that the video is
available as streamed video.
You can click on the
Online Access link to view it.
[Articles]
Articles are found in different types of publications,
such as magazines,
newspapers, and academic journals.
Each of these may be found in
a physical or electronic format.
Each type of article has unique features
and is best used for specific purposes.
[Scholarly Articles]
Scholarly articles are published in
scholarly or academic journals.
Each journal is focused on a
specific subject or field of study.
Often the title of the publication
describes its content,
for example the
Journal of Applied Psychology.
Scholarly or academic journal articles
are written by experts in a certain field,
and the articles may have been reviewed
by other experts prior to publication.
They often use technical language
that is specific to the field of study,
and focus on a very narrow topic.
[Newspaper Articles]
Newspaper articles are good for
finding current information or
reports that were written
soon after events occurred.
They tend to be brief and are
written in a simple, readable style.
[Trade Magazines]
Trade magazines and journals are published
for a specific industry or profession
and contain articles relevant to that field.
They are good sources for
overviews of issues and trends,
identifying groups or associations,
and for finding related
advertising and industry contacts.
[Popular Magazines]
Popular magazines are good sources for
overviews of issues and current events.
They tend to appeal to a wide audience,
and are often considered to be entertainment.
In MultiSearch, each type of article
will have a specific image and
corresponding label beside it.
Scholarly articles are labeled as “Academic Journal,”
popular and trade articles
are both labeled as “Periodical,”
and newspaper articles as “News.”
When you’re researching, remember to
look for the specific types of resources
that your assignment may require,
and remember that each resource type
is best at providing a certain
kind of information on your topic.
