LibGuides: Liberal Arts: finding library resources for assignments: What information do I need?

Decorative image showing stick drawn figure examining papers trhough a magnifying glass You are likely to use a combination of different types of resources in order to fully explore the topic you are interested in.

See the following tabs to help you decide what kind of information you are looking for.

For overviews and introductions to key topics and arguments, resources such as handbooks, companions, dictionaries, encylopedias and bibliographies can be great starting points.

Here are some to explore:

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Scholarly or academic journals go through a "peer review" process, where a panel of experts assesses the article before it is approved for publication.

The majority of the journals available via the library are in digital format. This means they are available to you any time, any place and ensures you can access the latest journal issues as soon as they are published.

How to find journal articles

Use Library Search to find out which articles have appeared in your research area.
Use research databases such as Humanities Index, Humanities International Complete, JSTOR, and others from the A-Z Databases list. Find out more in the Research databases section of this guide.

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Primary sources are documents which were created during particular historical periods, as opposed to secondary sources, which are written at a later date about particular historical periods.

Examples of primary sources are Government publications, newspapers, photographs, original art work, diaries, interviews, memoirs, letters, manuscripts, business records, court cases, census data, speeches.

Find out more on the Primary Sources LibGuide.

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News sources can be invaluable research resources.
They provide contemporaneous accounts of events as they emerge and unfold, affording a snapshot of developments at a point in time.
You can engage in historical research by tracing commentary on issues over time, to identify and track changing political, economic and social trends.
The availability of news resources online allows for very effective and comprehensive searching, in a way that was impossible with print or microfilm / microfiche editions of the newspapers

Find out more on the News LibGuide

Decorative image of an old style film projector TV, film, sound and image sources can all be important research resources.

How to find film resources

Use the Database A-Z List to discover the Film and Sound databases that are available to you.

Key resources include Box of Broadcasts - watch recorded TV and radio programmes from free to air channels, and Kanopy - watch critically acclaimed films, documentaries and foreign language films.

You can also visit the Film subject guide to find out more.