Journalism

As journalists, you will work on tight deadlines and will need to learn to quickly find reliable information to fill out and / or back up your stories.  The best approach to use to accomplish this goal is the use of the task-oriented research method (often called beat research by reporters and news researchers).  Determining your task first and devising your search strategy based on that task will help you save time by cutting down on information overload.  The following steps will walk you through the task-oriented method.

Step One:  Be clear about what you are looking for.  A general subject is not enough.  You need to know the type of information you are looking for or what you want to accomplish with the information (i.e. what is your task?).

      Example: You have been assigned to write an article on the devastation
      caused by the tsunamis that hit Southeast Asia on December 26, 2004. 

      Decide what you want to find out about the broad subject tsunamis: 
              A definition?
              Where have they hit before?
              Prior devastation and losses caused by tsunamis?
              Experts to interview about tsunamis?

Step Two:  Determine the type of resource you would use to find the information.

      A definition - an encyclopedia or dictionary? General or subject-specific?
      Where they have hit before - a government agency that monitors tsunami 
                activity?
      Prior devastation / losses - newspaper articles, a government agency, a
                subject-specific encyclopedia?
      Experts to interview - an educational institution that specializes in tsunami
                or natural disaster research?

Types of Information and Possible Resources

To find books that may have the info you are looking for, try using Reference Universe.  This database can help you find little nuggets of information in reference sources, such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, etc. 

Step Three:  Find the information.  To do this, you need to develop your search strategy.  You have determined what you want to find out and what you are going to do with the information and some possible types of resources that you may use to find what you are looking for.  You have taken the first steps necessary to develop your search strategy. 

Now, think of keywords or terms you can use to find the information.  If the first term you try does not work, think of some synonyms and try again.  If you find some of what you need with your initial keywords but need more information, look for clues within the information you've found to branch out your search.  For example, in looking at articles in databases, look at the subject headings and/or keywords the database provides to describe the article.  When you look in encyclopedias and dictionaries, look for "see also" entries.  When you look at case law, read the opinions of the judges and the history of the case to find other relevant cases.  You can follow this strategy with all of the resources you use.  Use the information you find to help you find more information.

Step Four:  Evaluate the sources and information you find to ensure your question has been answered fully and the information is reliable.  This step is especially important if you use freely available websites.