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Chapter 3: Finding Reference Materials

Topics Covered
  1. General Guides to the Literature
  2. Guides to Directories
  3. Guides to Periodicals and Other Serials
    1. General Serials Directories
    2. Trade Journal Directories
    3. Newsletter Directories
    4. Newspaper Directories
    5. Guides to Special Issues
  4. Guides to Specialized Business Publications
  5. Guides to Computerized Information Sources
    1. Directories of On-line Databases
    2. Specialized On-line Directories
    3. CD-ROM Directories
    4. Directories of Magnetic Tape Files and Diskettes
  6. Honing Research Skills
  7. For Further Reading
 Major Sources Discussed
  • Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources
  • Directories in Print
  • Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory
  • Business Publications Rates & Data
  • Oxbridge Directory of Newsletters
  • Editor & Publisher International Year Book
  • Business Rankings Annual
  • Findex: The Directory of Market Research Reports, Studies and Surveys
  • Information Industry Directory
  • Directory of Online Databases
  • Fulltext Sources Online
  • CD-ROMs in Print: An International Guide
  • Directory of Computerized Data Files: A Guide to U.S. Government Information in Machine Readable Format

Samuel Johnson wrote: "Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it." To know the answers ourselves certainly seems preferable; at the very least, it saves us the trouble of looking it up. Realistically, there will probably be more instances in our lives when we don’t know the answer than when we do. The accelerating rate at which knowledge is created makes it impossible to learn and retain everything that is relevant to us. And even if we could, it is unlikely we would be able to anticipate all our future information needs. That is where research skills come into play. Knowing where to look is the researcher’s stock-in-trade, but numerous finding tools are published to assist novice and expert alike. The focus of this chapter is on these guides—the directories, handbooks, and bibliographies that can lead the user to the proper source of information.

Learning what reference materials are available is a vital part of the research process, but a bewildering array of published materials exists for every business topic imaginable. Finding exactly the right source to address a specific question often seems like an overwhelming task. Common sense might suggest that a particular type of publication must exist, but identifying it when needed can be challenging. Library catalogs are frequently too general for specific inquiries, and popular guides such as Books in Print typically do not cover specialized reference works. One of the best ways to learn about potentially useful information sources is to consult guides to . . .




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