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Documentary Film Research Methods

Internet Resources

Gateway to US government information - includes statistics, historical information

Can be used both for fact checking and as primary source material

 

 
 
World Factbook (aka CIA Factbook)
 
 
"Provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues."
Includes maps, timezones, etc.  Ability to create comparison tables

 

ProfNet

Designed with journalists in mind, you can search this network of 25,000 experts

 

Biographical Information

Encyclopedias

•Use Encyclopedias for basic information regarding your topic, the "what" "who" "where" and "when" that define your topic.
•It's fine to start with Wikipedia  and sites like Bartleby.com to get some basic information and References.
•Don't rely on just one source, compare several sources to check for contradictions, inconsistencies, or gaps

 

General Encylopedias in the Library

Encyclopedia Britannica

Includes dictionaries, timelines, geographical information

 

Subject Encyclopedias

Use BobCat to find specialized encyclopedias:

Use Subject Keyword "Encyclopedias" in combination with Keywords that describe your topic:

Social &Political Issues

For 100 years, CQ Press has been an authority on current affairs and the U.S. government. With databases reaching back to George Washington’s election, these collections provide content to ground today’s issues in their historical contexts with platform tools to access and analyze hundreds of years of data.