Gathering Information
Once you have decided on a story idea, be sure to brainstorm on key words and subjects. For example, "Network Neutrality" is also called "Net Neutrality" or the "Open Internet." If you use one term and not the other, you may miss some articles.
Tips:
- Gather your research in a Google Doc or a Research Manager such as Zotero or Mendeley
- Make an appointment with Cathy for assistance.
Context and History
- CQ ResearcherThese background reports are written by journalists. Take note of the publication date; it is current through that date.
- Opposing Viewpoints (Gale in Context)Opposing Viewpoints aggregates information on a topic by type. The reference material can be especially valuable. Try looking for your issue in the "Browse Issues" page (top left).
- Gale EbooksThe library subscribes to a number of online encyclopedias. Some of them are on this platform.
- Journalist's Resource: Knowledge-based reportingBackground research from Harvard's Shorenstein Center. Free.
Experts
Experts:
- Consider the authors of scholarly books and journal articles, members of policy think tanks, government officials, and organizations related to the story idea.
- When visiting colleges and universities, look for a Media Relations or Featured Experts page.
- SPJ's Journalist's Toolbox lists some additional web resources.
Books
- Library Search: Advanced SearchChange the "Any Field" drop-down to Title to search by title. Under "Tweak my results" in the right menu, limit to "Library Catalog" to find books and videos available in the library.
- Ebook Central (ProQuest)Ebook Central titles can be discovered in Library Search > Library. If you search it directly, you can search the fulltext content of all the books in the collection and find more specific references to people, places, concepts, etc. Sign in to add ebooks to your virtual bookshelf and for highlights and annotations.
- WorldCat via FirstSearchSearch this to discover books not held by Ithaca College Library that you can borrow using Interlibrary Loan. Click the "Get It" arrow to link into the Interlibrary Loan system. Consider requesting just a chapter, not the whole book, if that is needed; it will arrive sooner.
Scholarly Articles
- EBSCO Research LibrarySearch across all of our EBSCO subscriptions for full-text articles and abstracts in almost every discipline.
- Academic OneFile (Gale OneFile)This multidisciplinary database contains peer-reviewed articles, reference sources (including Gale Encyclopedia of Science and Encyclopedia of World Biography), and other sources including podcasts and transcripts from NPR and CNN, full-text from The Economist (1988-present), as well as videos from BBC Worldwide Learning.
Contents: Full-text articles, podcasts, broadcast transcripts, and videos. - Google ScholarThis search engine includes peer-reviewed online academic journals, books, conference proceedings, theses, technical reports, court opinions, and other scholarly literature.
Contents: Citations and some full-text.
Note: Few results in Google Scholar link directly to full-text.
Biography
- American National Biography (Oxford)Biographies of famous Americans who are deceased.
- Nexis Uni (LexisNexis)Click the "All Nexis Uni" down arrow and check the box for Directories. Where it says Search, type, for example, Robert w/2 Iger
Directories
- White PagesReverse phone, people and business.
- Polk City DirectoryA-Z directory, reverse look-up, look-up by street, wealth codes, etc. Reference Stacks F129.24 .C57
- Editor & publisher newspaper data bookListing of daily and weekly newspapers.
- The New York Red BookDirectory of who is who in New York government . Includes maps.
- United States Government ManualThe official handbook of United States government including executive, judicial and legislative information. PDFs of 1995+ are available.
- United States House of RepresentativesRepresentatives, Committees, Legislative activity, etc.
- United States SenateRepresentatives, Committees, Legislative Activity, etc.
Social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) can be used for contacts.
Images and Video
- Image Collection (EBSCO)Contains images from Archive Photos, Canadian Press, Motion Picture & Television Archive, McClatchy, UPI, Getty, Antenna Audio (maps), and public domain sources.
Contents: Photographs, images, and maps.
- Associated Press (YouTube) Archive VideoAP Archive is the film and video archive of The Associated Press. View AP Archive’s videos via this channel – the collection offers 1.7 million global news and entertainment video stories, which date back to 1895.
- Prelinger Archive: News and Public AffairsAn analysis of news and public affairs independent from traditional corporate media is available from this diverse video library. These collections offer an alternative way to view and interpret current news and public affairs. Many of these videos are available for free download.
- Library of CongressThe Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office
- NYPL Digital CollectionsThis site is a living database with new materials added every day, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more.
Statistics
- StatistaSubjects are geared towards business and marketing statistical needs, and include consumer goods, media, politics, sports, travel, and technology.
Contents: Statistical information, data, infographics, and tables.
- ProQuest statistical abstract of the United States.Annual compilation of key social science statistics for the U.S.
- data.census.govThe data.census.gov platform provides access to data and digital content from the US Census Bureau including some data previously available through American FactFinder.
Contents: Census data.
- The Accountability Project (TAP)The Accountability Project gives researchers and journalists a powerful, but simple tool to search across data that would otherwise be siloed. Our collection includes more than 1.4 billion public records. From the Reva & David Logan Foundation & the Investigative Reporting Workshop.
