summary - George Brown College Library Learning Commons

Research Success Tutorial – Introduction (Module 1)
In this module you are going to learn about:
• different sources of information
• various formats used for storing information
• tools you can use for finding information
Let's pretend you just got an assignment and you are wondering where to begin...
You have lots of questions, like:
• What kind of information do I need to complete the assignment?
• Where can I look to find this information?
• Once I have found everything I need, how do I put it all together in a way that makes sense?
Different Sources of Information
There are a number of places to look for information on your topic.
Each of these is referred to as a source of information.
Answers to your research questions will come from several different sources, including:
Books
A book is a volume made up of written pages that provides extensive
coverage of a subject.
Periodicals
These are materials that are published on a continual basis: daily,
weekly, monthly, yearly. Some examples are scholarly journals,
popular magazines, newspapers.
Non-Print Media
This is information that does not use the written word to convey its
message. Some examples are DVDs and CD-Roms.
Web Sites
These are pages of text and graphics arranged onto web pages located
on the Internet.

Before you begin your research it is also important to know that information can be
divided into two types...
Primary Sources
A primary source is an account by an eyewitness or the first recorder of an event, in written or other
form. Examples include:
• autobiographies
• novels
• diaries
• letters
• news footage
• newspaper articles
Secondary Sources
A secondary source includes any material that interprets, restates, or analyzes a primary source.
Examples include:
• textbooks
• encyclopedias
• literary criticisms
Hint: Many of the items found in libraries are secondary sources.
Information Formats
Information can appear in a variety of formats, including:
Print – Books, Newspapers, Magazines
Internet Based – Web sites, E-Books,
Databases, which contain online journal, magazine and newspaper articles
Non-Print Media – CD-ROMs, DVDs
Sometimes, the same information can be found in more than one format. For example, the Toronto
Star newspaper can be found in print and online format. Also, books can appear in both print and
online formats.

Tools for Finding Information
There are several different tools you can use to find information, which include:
• Library catalogues
Library catalogues are used to search for the titles and locations of items in your library such as books,
e-books and DVDs.
• Online research databases
Research databases are used to search for information from sources such as journals, magazines,
newspapers and e-books.
• Search engines
Search engines search through web sites on the Internet looking for matches to words you typed into the
search box.