Central Oregon
Community College
LIBRARY 127

BACKGROUND INFORMATION, FACTS AND STATISTICS

Most often, you need some background information before you can begin a research project.  Let's say you wanted to research the topic "the growth of Waldorf education in the United States".  Before looking for books and journal articles to provide information on this topic, you will probably want to look in an encyclopedia--perhaps the Encyclopedia of Education--in order to read some background information on the basics of Waldorf education. 

Once you have the background, you will be able to more effectively employ library resources such as the online catalog (to locate books) and/or databases (to locate articles.)  Without an overview however, you would not know some of the basic facts and details about Waldorf education; for example, that it was established in Germany for working class children, or that the founder of Waldorf education was the philosopher Ruldolf Steiner.   These basic facts will shape your catalog and database searches and will help you focus your search. 

You can locate facts, background information and statistics in a number of different ways: using a World Wide Web search engine such as Google sometimes works; looking in books or articles sometimes works; but often the best way to locate basic facts and background material is to employ some kind of hardbound or online reference work.

Let's talk about printed (hardbound) reference resources first.  By reference resources, I mean encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, directories,  and other items providing concentrated information on a topic.   Some kinds of reference resources are good for locating specific pieces of information, such as "the current literacy rate in Ireland." Other reference works give ten or so pages of background on a a broader subject, such as "the history of the Catholic Church". I've listed a few essential reference items below.     Each item resides in the Reference collection (on the first floor) of the COCC Library.  I've listed call numbers after each item.  Some of these items are published on the World Wide Web in addition to being available as hardcopy in the COCC Library--in those cases, I've provide hotlinks for your exploration. 

Oxford English Dictionary, a.k.a. "the OED". Dictionaries provide brief definitions. Some dictionaries are etymological dictionaries--they give the history of words. Other dictionaries are subject oriented--the define terms belonging to a specific field or discipline.  The "OED" gives historical development of every word in the English language since about 1150, with the date it was introduced and the uses which have survived over time, plus examples of how each meaning was used.  It lives at the COCC Library, at this call number:   Ref. PE 1625 .087 1989

Note: the OED exists in an online  form as well, but not currently at our library.  You CAN take a look at the OED "word of the day" on the web though, at http://www.oed.com/cgi/display/wotd.  BEWARE!  I tried to make this link open into a new window (otherwise it keeps popping up and doesn't let you return to this  page...but it doesn't seem to work! This can get very irritating, and you might end up having to close out of your Internet browser altogether.)

McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Encyclopedias provide background, context, and important names, dates and other essential facts. General encyclopedias cover a variety of topics. Subject encyclopedia cover one specific topic, such as "psychology" or "science".  Encyclopedias exist in hardcopy (printed versions) and online versions. The McGraw Encyclopedia of Science and Technology covers covers major areas of science and technology  with clear definitions plus illustrations, charts and diagrams.  This encyclopedia includes bibliographies for some topics.   There is an online version, but COCC has the print version only.  You can find it in the COCC (or probably any college) reference section at this call number: 
Ref. Q 121 .M3

Statistical Abstract of the United States includes tables and charts summarizing the statistics gathered by the U.S. government. If it can be expressed in numbers and is important in the U.S., it will probably be there.    An abbreviated online version of this work is available at http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/brief.html.

Otherwise, look for the full, hardcopy edition at 
Ref. HA 202 .U5       Note--for the hard-copy version:  Use the index to look up your specific topic. The index lists topics according to TABLE numbers, not page numbers.

Another nice statistical website is http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stats.html.

World Almanac provides general statistics, facts, sports facts, weather, conversion tables, reviews of major events, etc. per year.  Used for everyday things like looking up sports records, or how to convert inches to centimeters.  The index is in front of book.  Find it at your friendly college library at Ref. AY 67 .W927.

Here's an online version of the InfoPlease World Almanac: http://www.infoplease.com/world.html.


Encyclopedia of Associations offers addresses, telephone numbers, descriptions, and key figures for institutions or organizations.  Gives name, address, size and major activities for national non-profit organizations, grouped by categories according to their main interest, with a keyword index in the third volume.   Despite its title, this reference book is a directory, and provides you with addresses and phone numbers for organizations across the United States. There is an index volume...use it! The index volume consists of a name and keyword index that provides you with listings for your organization regardless of whether you know the its full-name, or just its general subject area. The index gives you entry numbers. Go to the appropriate volume and look up the entry number, not the page number.   Ref. HS 17.G334

Current Biography Yearbook. Gives detailed information on political figures, entertainment personalities, sports people, etc.   REF  CT 100. C8 1993

Of course, this is not every reference work, just a select listing.  Many, many, many others exist.  Why would you use a reference book--especially in print--when it is so tempting to go to the web and do some searching?  Here's the big secret--if you know which reference book to go to you can often get the answer from a print (or online) reference book much faster than searching for the information within the big, chaotic worldwide web!  Also, reference books (both print and online) are published, reviewed and organized by reputable publishing organizations--you know the information is valid and authoritative.    That often can't be said for your average "googled" webpage! 

While we ARE turning more and more to electronic reference sources (go back to the syllabus to see the next link for Week Two's reading!) print reference items are still handy.  Here's a few ways to locate any reference BOOK that you might need:

Remember that Library of Congress Classification system?  Remember how the first row of call numbers represents the broad subject?   You can use that system to locate reference books.  

Let's imagine you want to locate an encyclopedia on Religion so that you can get an understanding of the history of Judaism.  Take a look at the listing for Library of Congress Classification (you saw this during the first assignment--scroll down a bit to get to the list) and figure out the classification letters for religion.  B stands for religion, philosophy and psychology, right?  We already know that this B is going to appear as the first letter of the call number of books having to do with those topics.  Stroll on over to the reference section of the COCC Library (or any college library) and behold!  You will see several encyclopedias and other resources having to do with religion.  Grab the most recent encyclopedia, look in the index for entries for Judaism, and you are on your way!

You can also retrieve reference books using the Library's Online Catalog, but we'll look into that next week!

Indexes in Reference Books

Many reference books (especially encyclopedias) will have indexes. The index or indexes will be located in the back of a   volume, or may have a volume all its own. An index will ease your search for information by providing a listing of all of the places that discuss your topic within the reference work. Let's say you were interested in the artist Vincent Van Gogh. You might go to COCC's brand new "Dictionary of Art" (REF N 31.D5 1996) and pull down the volume who's spine says it covers "Gairard to Goodhue" and find an article on the painter. Going to the index volume first, however, provides you with a wealth of information you don't necessarily get from the "G" volume alone. In the index, you'd see entries on "Gogh, Vincent Williem Van" and also on his brother, Theo, on Vincent Van Gogh's relationships with art dealers, , on his house, on forgeries, on his patrons, on his connections with other painters, and so on. All in all, the index lists 37 different entries on Vincent Van Gogh above and beyond the few pages of biography located in the "G" volume! When using any reference book, check for an index that will provide you with all listings on a subject.


Tables of Contents

Many reference books have "Tables of Contents" that will lead you to the page numbers of broad subject areas. The first volume of the "Encyclopedia of American Social History" (REF HN 57.R58 1993), for example, provides a Table of Contents that lays out the broad subject areas in each volume. According to the Table of Contents, the first part of Volume One contains articles on "PERIODS OF SOCIAL CHANGE", including "Native Peoples Prior to European Arrival", and "Native Peoples and Early European Contacts". The Tables of Contents in reference books are great places to start if you have only a general idea of the kind of information you need, or if your topic is not that focused yet, or if you haven't even chosen a topic yet, but are trying narrow some general possibilities. Indexes are used to locate all instances a specific topic is treated in a reference book; Tables of Contents are used to identify the subject areas and scope of a reference book.


Evaluating Reference Books

When you use a reference book, be careful about noting its date of publication. The publication date on COCC's The Encyclopedia of Sports (REF GV 567.M46) is 1975. This old encyclopedia will not contain information on newer sports, such as "skate-skiing" or "inline skating". It certainly will not contain information on current sports figures, or current sports statistics! Be especially aware of the publication date for reference books in technology, the sciences or medicine. These fields develop so rapidly that even that reference books just two years old may be out of date.

Signed articles in an encyclopedias are another sign of quality. Look for the author's name at the end of the article. While unsigned articles are not necessarily a warning sign, listing the author's name at the end of an article shows the publishers' confidence in their product. Most folks who write signed articles for encyclopedias are well-known and well-respected scholars in the field.

Finally, always look for a bibliography at the end of an encyclopedia article. It's a sign of quality, and may lead you to other resources on your subject.