Beyond Feelings - Vincent Ruggiero [71]
WHERE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION
Whenever possible, we should consult our own experience and observation. Even if what has happened to us or we have seen happen to others pertains only indirectly to the issue or touches just one aspect of it, it should not be overlooked. Our observation of how people use stereotypes or face-saving maneuvers in everyday situations may help us evaluate a political candidate's speech or a party's platform. Our experience with conformity in ourselves and our friends can provide us with an insight into the effects of TV programming on the public. Being alert to the relevance of our experience to the issue we are investigating not only can give us valuable ideas; it can also suggest important questions. Thus it can provide our inquiry with better direction.
Of course, our own experience and observation will seldom be adequate by itself, especially on complex and controversial matters. We will need to consult other sources. What follows is a brief guide to what to look for and where to find it.
Background on the Issue. Think of several general headings under which the issue might be classified. For example, if the issue concerned criminal investigation, the headings might be "crime," "criminology," "police," and one or more specific kinds of crime, such as "burglary." Then look up those headings in the index volume of a good general encyclopedia, such as Encyclopedia Americana or Encyclopedia Britannica. (Americana has a separate index volume. Britannica is divided into two sets of books: the macropaedia set, which contains detailed articles on a limited number of subjects, and the micropaedia set, which contains brief articles and cross-references on a large number of subjects.) The articles you will find there are written by authorities in the various fields. At the end of each article is a list of books and other articles you can consult for a fuller or more specialized treatment of the issue.
In addition to the general encyclopedias, there are numerous special ones: encyclopedias of art, business, history, literature, philosophy, music, science, education, social science, and many more. Most of these contain not only discussions of the history of the field but also titles of other books and articles you may find helpful. (Remember that background reading, though a helpful start toward analyzing an issue, is never an acceptable substitute for analysis. You instructor will expect more from you than background information.)
Facts and statistics. Almanacs are treasuries of information, published yearly, on a myriad of subjects. There are a number of good ones. World Almanac is available from 1868. Information Please Almanac, The New York Times Encyclopedic Almanac, and Reader's Digest Almanac are more recent publications. Because any almanac is arranged very compactly for efficient use, it is important to study the index before using it.
Information about people. A number of biographical dictionaries and encyclopedias are available. Two of the most helpful ones are Current Biography: Who's News and Why and Webster's Biographical Dictionary.
Articles in newspapers, magazines, and journals. The most basic index to articles is the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature. It lists articles form over one hundred magazines by subject and by author. As with an encyclopedia, you should begin by thinking of the various headings under which the issue might be classified. Then select the volumes for the appropriate years (more current years are listed in unbound pamphlet form), and look up those headings. The entries will list the title and author of the article and the name and issue of the magazine it appeared in.
Two other important indexes are the Social Science Index and the Humanities Index. (Before 1965 these indexes appeared together under the title International Index.) they are similar to Reader's Guide but cover scholarly and professional magazines and journals. Other helpful indexes include the New York Times Index, which covers