Best Information Resources for Getting Started

• Quick Facts and Background Information (full-text)
  • The Encyclopaedia Britannica is an excellent place to find background information on almost any topic. For quick facts you may also use World Almanac or the Statistical Abstract of the United States.
• Journal Articles (many full-text)
  • Scholarly journals provide authoritative, well-researched analyses of topics in all subject areas. Popular magazine articles provide informative though sometimes less thoroughly researched information. Use Academic Search Premier and Masterfile Premier to identify scholarly articles, as well as popular magazine articles and news reports.
• News from Magazines, Newspapers, and Broadcasts (full-text)
  • The best resource for information on current events is often the News. LexisNexis Academic  and Global Newsbank are excellent Information Resources for US and International News.
• Books, Videos, Sound Recordings, Government Reports & more
  • Faculty often encourage students to use books or videos as references in their assignments. Use the Library Catalog to find books and other materials in the UNR Libraries.
• Specialized Subject Indexes (with many full-text articles)
  • Research projects often require the use of Specialized Subject indexes and databases that identify scholarly articles, books, government reports, and other information for specific subjects. Visit the Libraries' Databases, Web Sites, and Other Resources by Subject to select a subject area.
• World Wide Web Information
  • Many very good information resources are available on World Wide Web sites. Google and other Web Search Engines can be used to identify Web-based information resources. But be wary! The Web is a wide open information environment — almost anybody can put information on the Web, good or bad. You must take care to confirm that Web sites you use are good, authoritative information resources. Internet Detective is a free tutorial that offers practical advice on evaluating the quality of web sites.