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Research Unbound: A Library Orientation for Transfer, Upper-Division, and Graduate Students

This micro-course, which involves a series of online modules, will help you learn about the University Libraries' resources available to you, and will equip you with the skills you need to be an effective researcher.

Information Sources

Information Source: Newspapers

The final type of periodicals we'll discuss in this module are newspapers. Many newspapers are published daily and are directed at local or regional audiences, although there are some exceptions. Newspapers are increasingly available online, but some small, local newspapers have limited circulation and can be difficult to gain access to. In newspapers, you'll find:

  • Very current local, national, and international news information.
  • Articles written by trained journalists, not experts in a field.
  • Opinion articles or editorials expressing a viewpoint.
  • No scholarly analysis.

In your information searches and research, newspapers can be best used when you want to:

  • Find current information about events - local, national, or international.
  • Learn how people perceive and interpret events.
  • Understand the context of historical events or grasp the context of current events by reading newspaper articles from a specific time period.
  • Gain background knowledge on a topic.