Bibliographies
You can benefit from someone else's combing through sources on the topic you plan to research. Often researchers list the sources they used on a "Works Cited" or bibliography page at the end of a book, journal, or other printed resources.
This can be a tremendous asset in terms of helping you know which direction to take. From this list, you will learn all about the following:
- Other books to read. You will find a list of sources that help you begin to choose other books that might be a good addition to your pile of resources.
- Other authors to consider. Even if you are not sure about the books listed in a bibliography, you might find certain authors repeated in different lists. Those authors might be people you want to consider as you are doing your own research.
- Other sources of information. You may find there are certain journals or publishers who are covering information you need to find in your research.
Instead of seeking out these books and other resources, they are already compiled in bibliographies.
Book Bibliographies
Many academic books will have a list of resources and references in the back, along with appendices and other notes. You will want to look through all of these notes in the books where you found particularly useful information.Look for the following:
- Related books: When you use one book for your research, it can be easy to think that book is the right one, but there may be others that cover the same topic in a new way. In the bibliography list, look for books that are related to the one you already have used.
- Opposing books: Look in this reference list to see what books are opposite to the one you read. Having an opposite view can highlight areas you might need to investigate further.
- Titles listed: Just skimming over the titles can help you see what topics are being covered and what you may need to consider as you research. These titles also can provide additional keywords for your research needs.
- Years of publication: In looking at the years of publication, you can see what time periods are most relevant to the research you are doing or where that type of research began.
In some cases, the books cited at the back of a larger book may simply have been influential for the author. This can help you better understand the author.
You can then use these new books in your own bibliography if they end up being books that help to inform your research.
Journal Article Bibliographies
One of the best ways to find additional resources is to use the bibliography in a journal article. Because the person who has written the study has taken time before, during, and after the study to research the chosen topic, she or he has gathered some of the most meaningful sources.In addition, because these writers have access to a diverse set of resources, they often compile lists of books and other journal articles that you may not have been able to find on your own.
If you read a journal article and you find it fits your research needs, look at the bibliography to extend your research.
With this list, you can discover the following:
- other schools around the world that are researching the topic;
- other researchers who have already covered these topics;
- other studies related to the main study, even it they are not exactly covering the same ideas.
Sometimes, the best research skill is to find one journal article that speaks to your topic and then compile the books that are listed in the bibliography.
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