© Copyright 2000 State University of New York & Ulster County Community CollegeWhile the amount of information and the number of information sources available may seem daunting, there is structure to the way information is stored. The goal of this course is to help you see the structure and to enable you to find, retrieve, understand and evaluate information, and to become more information literate.
Where Do I Begin?
The Search Process
In your history class, your professor has assigned a five to seven page paper on some aspect of World War II. He wants your topic by the next class. How will you begin? Where will you begin? If you go to the library and seek information about WW II, you will be overwhelmed with the volume of material available. Your mission (and you must accept it to pass the class) is to find an angle or aspect of WW II that interests you.
A good place to begin a research project is to look at a general encyclopedia, like The Columbia Encyclopedia or Britannica Online. Articles in general encyclopedias provide you with an overview of a topic. By starting with an overview, you may find an aspect that interests you. After scanning the article about WW II, you decide you would like to focus on the Holocaust.
