RESEARCH

Research is information that can be added to an article to add factual information and/or historically date people and events in the article. There are several ways to obtain the facts and figures you need to give your article credibility. Below are listed a few:

1. Phone research - If you live in a major metropolitan area, you can call the research department of your library to look up information for you while you wait on the phone. However, the research may take an hour or two to look up, and they will have to phone back. If your research is very comprehensive, the reference department will be happy to look up the material you need, but you may be required to go in to the library to glean the information you require.

2. Visiting the library - Most librarians are happy to show you where the research books are located in the field you need. Many times they actually will pull the book for you and show you where to find the material.

One of the books we use most often in my research is The Timetables of History by Bernard Brun. This book gives a year-by-year capsule of the important events in (a) history and politics, (b) literature and theater, (c) religion, philosophy and learning, (d) visual arts, (e) music, (f) science, technology and growth and (g) daily life.

Another good book titled, What Happened When gives the historical happenings on a day-by-day basis. The Chronology of World History gives you historical events as they relate to the history of most all the continents. The Encyclopedia of World History is another reference book we utilize frequently to historically date our work. These are some of our favorite books to time date articles and events.

Writer's Resource Guide is a one-volume directory of hundreds of sources of information on practically any subject that directs you to libraries, companies, museums, etc. with the information you need.

If you are doing a products' evaluation type article, Product Evaluations - The Magazine Index will tell you from what periodicals thousands of new products have been evaluated.

Reader's Guide for periodic literature will allow you to look up any subject that has been written about in magazines and will give you the name of the magazine, the year and the month the article was printed, the title and the author's name. By using this book, you can determine what has been written in magazines on the subject you plan to cover.

Hot Topics - The Magazine Index is a publication that deals with current items of interest that have been published within the last year or so. Most of the information available in magazines on a current subject will be referenced in this book.

A library also offers a wide variety of general biographies to research people. The Governments Document Section at your local library holds a wealth of information on almost any subject. If your research deals in scientific or technological information, this may be a separate section of the library with special librarians to help you research this kind of material.

Many large southern libraries contain a southern history and literature department. All subjects pertaining to the South, its heritage and literature often can be found in this part of the library. This section usually keeps a clipping file on major events that happen in the state or region. These newspaper clippings can add great detail and often first-hand information on a particular subject you are researching in the South.

Today many city and regional libraries are online. You can learn how to access their wealth of research and articles by contacting your local library. Public Records Online and Researching Online for Dummies also give you a wealth of information on how to research and will be helpful books for your home library. The book People, Places, and Things also will give you proper spelling.

WRITING FOR RESEARCH - The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. 20540 and the New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, NY 10018 are both excellent research facilities. For a nominal charge, they will do your research for you, photocopy the information you need and mail it to you. Research often is the difference between a check from an editor or a rejection slip. Research pays dollars. Do not overlook it.

INTERNET

There's no information in the known world that you can't access or find out how to access by using the internet. The internet is one of the greatest resources that any writer can ever have. It allows you to write on any subject, any country, or any information that you don't know about. Through the internet you can also find resource people to quote for almost any article. Below, are some of the search engines that I use and that I know will help you. Find the information you need in order to sell articles and make money.

www.switchboard.com
www.writersmarket.com
www.journalistexpress.com
www.dogpile.com
www.prnewswire.com
www.altavista.com
www.askjeeves.com
www.yahoo.com