1. The Information Landscape aims to introduce you to the most popular information sources
The Information Landscape aims to introduce you to the most popular information sources
and help you to see how each might be useful in the course of your Sixth Form studies.
and help you to see how each might be useful in the course of your Sixth Form studies.
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Click in the boxes below to find out more. Click on the
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Scholarly Journal Articles
Academic Textbooks
Subject-based Periodicals
Reference Resources
Magazines
Websites
Audio-Visual Information
Personal Communications
Sutherland, Northern Scotland by imagesofgb4u, Flickr
Newspapers
Social Networking Resources
Adapted from Portsmouth University library guides

2. Articles are peer reviewed, i.e. the quality of the
article has been reviewed by an editorial board.
Use these when you know that you
want very specific academic information.
They may be in printed
or electronic format.
They are published regularly,
usually monthly or quarterly.
Scholarly Journal Articles
You can use tools called databases
to help you search the contents
of these and other types of journal. Try
the Directory of Open Access Journals and
Oxford Journals.
You can also find scholarly articles
in any subject area by searching
Google Scholar.
They contain articles,
written by academics.
The sources used to write
the articles are included
at the end in a Reference
List or Bibliography.
Some public libraries offer
access to academic articles via
Access to Research.

3. These periodicals are published
regularly and include articles relevant
to sixth form study,
e.g. Philip Allan Review magazines.
Articles are often fairly
short and readable.
Subject-based Periodicals
You can search their
contents by using
the library catalogue.
As part of your wider reading,
regularly browse periodicals
relating to your subjects. Find
them on the periodical displayers
in the library.
Articles are not peer reviewed, but
are usually written by people with
a sound knowledge of the subject,
often academics.
They may be printed or electronic. The
library catalogue gives you access to online
versions, e.g. History Today.

4. Magazines are usually
aimed at the general public,
but can have a place in student
research. Vogue, for example,
will be useful for fashion students.
Use these to keep up with changing
trends, ideas or public opinions.
They are usually published
weekly or monthly.
Magazines
Some magazines have their
own websites where you can
read sample articles and view
additional information.
They are usually available in printed format although
increasingly available online.
Assist Me / Fashion Shoot / Blank Mag by Simon Pais-Thomas, Flickr
Articles vary in length
and will usually be written
by journalists.
Find UK magazines by searching the
Media Directory.

5. As well as providing information
on current affairs, newspapers are
useful sources of public opinion and
include reviews.
They can be useful for historical
research, providing primary evidence
from the period in which they were
published.
Newspapers may be local
or national, tabloid or broadsheet,
they may also be specialist, e.g.
The Stage.
Newspapers
Times Digital Archive is an historical
news database accessible online from
Cambridgeshire Libraries. You need to
be a member of the public library
but can join online.
Find and read full text newspaper articles
using the UK NewsStand database.
Tabloids and broadsheets are written
for different audiences. Compare
news stories from tabloids, or ‘red
tops’, such as the Sun and the Mirror
with ‘broadsheets’ such as the Times
and the Guardian.

6. Use these when you want an introduction
to a topic area. You are unlikely to read a
book from cover to cover. Use the contents
page and index to help you locate what you
want to find out about.
Format may be printed
or electronic.
They present well established ideas
and theories and usually cover a
broad topic area in considerable detail.
Academic Textbooks
The book may be edited and
divided into chapters which are
written by different authors
but relate to the main theme.
Use the Library Catalogue to find books
in Vanbrugh Library.
They are reviewed by an editorial
board so you can trust that the content
is reliable and accurate.
Find out what books are available by
searching COPAC or an online bookshop
such as Blackwell’s Online.
Find and read eBooks, using VLeBooks,
Project Gutenberg and eBooks at Cambridge

7. Use these to find quick facts.
They are useful to consult at
the planning stage of your
research and can provide you
with keywords to help you
search the web or library
catalogues and databases
effectively.
The Library has a general
Reference Collection where
you will find things like
encyclopedias, dictionaries
and directories.
Reference Resources
Use Cambridgeshire Libraries to search online
reference resources such as Credo Reference
and
Encyclopaedia Britannica. You will need to join
the public library to access these.
Specialist online resources are
available via the library
catalogue, e.g. Oxford Art Online

8. Visual arts students may use this for
inspiration for their design work.
Others may wish to illustrate particular
points within presentations or research.
It may consist of images, video clips,
podcasts, etc.
Audio-Visual Information
Images, just like other information
sources, will be subject to copyright
even if they are available on the web.
Images may be from printed
or electronic sources.
Instead of using Google images all the time,
search for free images and avoid issues of
copyright.
First Home Game 07-08 Season by diana tri wulandari, Flickr

9. Use the web to find quick facts,
current information, information
about companies and organisations
and information from the government.
Websites
Use more than one search engine.
Use the advanced search options to
find what you need more quickly and easily.
Search by domain name, if appropriate, e.g.:
.ac.uk
UK academic sites
.gov.uk UK government
.org.uk UK non profit making organisations
.co.uk
UK companies
Use Internet Gateways to help
you find information that has
already been evaluated.
Always evaluate the information
that you find on the web.
Visit the Internet Detective for
further information.

10. You may use these to add a personal,
research element to your work.
They could be letters, emails or
they could be opinions gathered
from a survey or interview.
Personal Communications
You should always ask permission
prior to including personal details
in your work. Contributors may
prefer to remain anonymous.
Always cite your sources, including
personal communications, e.g.
Andrews,J. (2013) E-mail to John Stephens, 14 August.

11. Useful for finding out what
others are thinking.
These include blogs, and tools for sharing
photos and information amongst
friends and groups.
Social Networking Resources
You should always ask permission
prior to including personal details
in your work. Contributors may
prefer to remain anonymous.
Use with caution in your research.
How reliable is the information?
People’s thoughts and feelings can
change too!
Use Technorati to find blogs; contribute to the pool of information on Wikipedia;
find your friends on Facebook; share photos on Flickr.