Browse in your reference area - Finding useful sources - Part I. Research and writing: from planning to production

A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations, 7th edition - Kate L. Turabian 2007

Browse in your reference area
Finding useful sources
Part I. Research and writing: from planning to production

Researchers in all fields share common values and habits of thought, but every field has its own ways of doing things. To learn about the ways of your field, browse the shelves in your library's reference room that hold guides to your field's particular research methods, databases, and special resources (in the bibliography, see items in category 3 in your field). At least familiarize yourself with the following resources (in the bibliography, see category 4 for lists of sources in your field; many are also online):

a bibliography of works published each year in your field, such as Philosopher's Index or Education Index

summary bibliographies of works on a specific topic collected over several years (Bibliographic Index is a bibliography of bibliographies)

collections of abstracts that summarize articles in newspapers and in professional journals

reviews of the year's work; look for a title in your field beginning with Reviews in . ..

for new fields, Web sites maintained by individuals or scholarly associations

If you know even a little of the secondary literature on your topic, you can begin looking for more substantive sources (skip to 3.3.7—3.3.8). If you don't, you might start with some specialized reference works.