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INFORMATION SOURCES
Evangel University Library Research Guide
EDITORIAL WRITING
2009
This guide is designed to help locate library sources useful to researchers writing an editorial. Samples of
each type of research aid are provided. Similar works can be found in the areas where these are located.
Tips for Writing Editorials
How to Write an Editorial
http://www.howtodothings.com/hobbies/a4439-how-to-write-an-editorial.html
Tips for Editorial Writing (selected Web sites)
http://www.teacherweb.com/NY/WebQuest/CityDesk/TipsforEditorialWriting.pdf
How To Write Better Editorials http://www.articlesbase.com/writing-articles/how-to-write-better-editorialarticles-51519.html or, TinyURL http://tinyurl.com/ln2nqx
Articles
Title:Ask early, often, finally: what's my point? By Steve Buttry. (Symposium Secrets to Stronger
Editorials). The Masthead 55.2 (Summer2003): p.12(2). (775 words) From General OneFile.
Source Citation:Fiske, Phineas. "Online: make it short, make it sing." The Masthead 51.1 (Spring
1999): 18(2). General OneFile. Gale. Evangel University. 22 Sept. 2009
<http://find.galegroup.com/gps/start.do?prodId=IPS>. Gale Document Number:A54422418
Awash in hogwash. (writing editorials), by Reg Murphy (National Geographic editor)
The Masthead 48.n4 (Winter 1996): p.p31(1). (625 words)
Find the connection. (writing international editorials).
The Masthead 48.n1 (Spring 1996): p.p9(2). (786 words)
Stroud, Joe H. "Enough navel-contemplation and thumb-sucking." The Masthead 48.n1 (Spring
1996): 14(1). General OneFile. Gale. <http://find.galegroup.com/gps/start.do?prodId=IPS>.
Gale Document Number:A18395834
Examples
Make a search on www.google.com or www.bing.com using the search string:
“Persuasive Writing Editorials Examples” for How-To help. Also, a search can be made
for “Teach Writing Editorial” or “Steps For Writing Editorials.”
Magazines Examples
Since timeliness is important in editorial writing, ideas should be checked against what has been recently
published.
Certain magazines should be searched regularly both for content and editorial viewpoints. For example:
Atlantic Monthly
Brandweek (marketing newsweekly)
Broadcasting & Cable (weekly)
Business Week
Christianity Today
Congressional Digest
Consumer’s Report
Economist (British)
Foreign Affairs
Harper’s
Maclean’s (Canadian weekly)
Mediaweek (news of the media)
Nation (liberal)
National Review (conservative)
New Republic (liberal)
Newsweek
Science
Time
U.S. News & World Report
Weekly Compilation of Pres. Documents
World Press Review (worldwide coverage)
Periodical and Journal Indexes and Abstracts
The library has indexes and abstracting services covering many subject areas. A few are given below:
ProQuest Reference Library (Online) Full text articles from about 2000 titles.
Gale / Cengage This provides access to thousands of journals, magazines, newspapers, etc. Several
thousand are offered in full text.
EBSCOhost SocINDEX with Full Text, ATLA Serials, PsycARTICLES & PsycINFO, and MLA International
Bibliogrpahy
Covers thousands of titles and provides hundreds full-text journals.
General Science Index Includes a wide range of scientific journals.
ATLA Serials religion index Covers several hundred religious journals. Less technical religious articles
Christian Periodical Index offers periodicals of special interest to evangelical researchers.
Physical Education Index Indexes physical education and sports topics.
Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS) (Prior years on south balcony) Covers political science, politics,
government, legislation, economics, sociology, etc.
Newspapers
Researchers should check the Internet for late breaking stories. The broadcast networks usually will
have stories mounted on their web sites. Newspapers also will have stories they have carried.
Researchers may search for a site by looking for the name of a major newspaper or may use a master
list. Researchers may use a search engine and the search terms “index” and “newspaper.” This should
yield several sites with hundreds or thousands of links to newspapers worldwide (see Newspaper Indexes
below).
Researchers should check for both the current news and for archival or back issues. Many times these
are completely searchable.
Newspaper Indexes
Academic OneFile (Online) Offers full text articles from the New York Times, 1985 to present, USA
Today (newspaper), 2003 to present, and the specialty papers from the Wall Street Journal, 2007 to
present.
ProQuest (Online) Abstracts articles in the N.Y.Times, USA Today (newspaper) and the Wall Street
Journal.
Newspapers US and Worldwide http://www.refdesk.com/paper.html
USA Newspapers.com http://www.usanewspapers.com/
IPL Newspapers Collection Online newspapers from around the world. (Internet Public Library)
http://www.ipl.org/div/news/
General News and Information
Facts on File. (Online) Digest of news from over 70 major news sources from around the world
Bartleby.com: Great Books Online http://www.bartleby.com/ A good source of information. “The
preeminent Internet publisher of literature, reference, and verse providing students, researchers and the
intellectually curious with unlimited access to books and information on the Web, free of charge.”
RefDesk: Refdesk is a free and family friendly web site that indexes and reviews quality, credible, and
current web-based reference resources. www.refdesk.com
Dictionaries
Credo Reference (Online) This provides access to hundreds of dictionaries and encyclopedias.
Acronyms, Initialisms, and Abbreviations Dictionary Ref PE 1693 .G3
American Heritage Dictionary Good desk dictionary with brief definitions, pictures, and usage notes. Ref
PE 1625 .A54
Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, by Eric Partridge. Ref PE 3721 .P3
Oxford English Dictionary
Excellent for tracing word origins and meanings. The largest English
language dictionary. Ref PE 1625 .O87
Webster’s Third New International Dictionary
Definitions for words given in chronological order with
usage notes and illustrative quotations. Located on a dictionary stand in the Reference Room.
Professional Dictionaries
Each subject area will potentially have its own dictionaries and encyclopedias. These will provide
definitions of terms which are very specific to a discipline or trade. Researchers may also use the Online
Public Access Catalog (OPAC) and use Subject Browse; e.g., Philosophy Dictionaries, or, Philosophy
Encyclopedias, and then click on that subject heading. It will provide a list of titles for the subject
heading.
Examples of professional dictionaries are:
Black’s Medical Dictionary This provides a good brief definition of diseases, illnesses (causes,
symptoms, treatments), chemicals, anatomy, etc. Ref R 121 .T5x
Black’s Law Dictionary This is similar to the Medical Dictionary above except it covers aspects of law,
and has some references to cases and laws. Ref KF 156 .B53
Hastings. Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics Especially useful for comparative studies of ideas and
theological positions held among major religious groups worldwide. Ref BL 31 .E44
Thesauri/Synonyms
Thesaurus.com: An Ask.com Service http://thesaurus.reference.com/
Roget’s International Thesaurus Ref PE 1591 .R73
Webster’s Dictionary of Synonyms Ref PE 1591 .W4
Family Work Finder
Ref PE 1591 .F34
Usage/Slang
American Usage: The Consensus Tells in what instances to use or not to use various words and
phrases. Ref PE 1460 .C65
Dictionary of Popular Slang Definitions for slang words and phrases. Ref PE 2846 .P4
Matthews. Dictionary of Americanisms American words and usage defined. Ref PE 2835 .D5
Almanacs and Yearbooks
Book of the States Information and statistics on states’ legislative, executive, and judicial activities; plus,
state election data. Ref JK 2403.B6
CSG State Directory (3 vol.) v. 1: Elective Officials; v.2: Legislative Leadership; v. 3: Administrative
Officials This is good for locating names of state officials responsible for specific state departments.
Ref JK 2403 .S71x
Statesman’s Yearbook Gives statistical and historical authoritative information (economy, industry,
natural resources, government, etc.) on each of the world’s countries. Ref JA 51 .S7
World Almanac Provides a wealth of brief information (sports, awards, statistics, news, prizes, etc.) and
the source of the data. Ref AY 67 .N5 W7
Encyclopedias (One-Volume)
Credo Reference (Online) Provides access to hundreds of dictionaries and encyclopedias.
New Columbia Encyclopedia Good desk encyclopedia of general knowledge and information.
5 .C725 Ask also about the availability of CD-ROM based encyclopedias.
Ref AG
Editorial Research
CQ Researcher (formerly Editorial Research Reports) Online and published weekly. Each very useful
issue covers a topic of national or international interest. The print copy is indexed by subject.
Atlases/Guides
Google Maps http://maps.google.com/
Maps in the Yahoo! Directory http://dir.yahoo.com/Science/geography/cartography/maps/
Oxford Atlas of the World Atlas case.
Rand McNally Commercial Atlas & Marketing Guide Good representation of business information within
states. Atlas case.
Times Atlas of the World Detailed maps with gazetteer. Ref G 1019 .B395
U.S. Postal Service National Five-Digit ZIP Code and Post Office Directory Ref HE 6361 .N37
Biography
Biographical Dictionaries Master Index Ref CT 213 .B56
Historical Biographical Dictionaries Master Index Ref CT 215 .H57
American National Biography Ref CT 213 .A68 It augments the Dictionary of American Biography
below.
International Who’s Who Ref CT 120 .I5
Biography Index Published periodically. It is an index to biographies by name and occupation in books
and magazines. Ref CT 100 .B5
Current Biography Yearbook It has lengthy biographies of prominent figures in government, sports, arts,
sciences, etc.; also obituaries for the past year. Ref CT 100 .C8
Dictionary of American Biography It has lengthy biographies of noteworthy deceased Americans.
There is a cumulative index.. It is considered to be a trustworthy, well-respected publication. Ref E 176
.D56
Dictionary of National Biography Similar to the Dictionary of American Biography above except it
includes residents of the British Commonwealth. Ref DA 28 .D4
Who’s Who in America Ref E 176 .W642 and Who’s Who (the British publication) Ref DA 28 .W6 Both
provide one-paragraph sketches (birth, death, children, accomplishments, address, etc.).
Who Was Who in American Ref E 176 .W64 and Who Was Who (the British publication)
Both provide one-paragraph sketches of noteworthy deceased individuals.
Webster’s Biographical Dictionary Provides brief sketches of noteworthy figures of all time periods and
nations. Ref CT 103 .W4
Quotations
Bartlett. Familiar Quotations It provides a chronological (1350 BC - ) index of popular quotations
with keyword index. This helps researchers attribute a quote to the correct person. Ref PN 6081 .B27
See also Bartleby (above) http://www.bartleby.com/
Book Review Indexes
Book Review Digest Contains short excerpts from reviews. Rev Z 1219 .C96
Book Review Index It has an author and title index to books being reviewed. Since some reviews are
quite late, researchers should consult at least the three years following the book’s publication. Indexed
journals are listed inside the front cover. Ref Z 1035 .A86
Statistics
For online sources, use the search string: statistics calculator, statistics fomula, statistics symbols, etc.
Digest of Education Statistics Ref L 111 .A6
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Ref HV 7245 .N37b
Historical Statistics of the U.S.: Colonial Times to 1970 Provides statistics on agriculture, population,
natural resources, housing, crime, etc. Ref HA 202 .B87
Statistical Abstract of the U.S. Annual. Has valuable tables of statistics on a wide variety of subjects.
Ref HA 202 .U5x
Statistical History of the American Presidential Elections Ref JK 1967 .P4 and Guide to U.S. Elections
Ref JK 1967 .G62
Congressional/Governmental Information
USA.gov: The U.S. Government's Official Web Portal www.usa.gov
Richard Kimber’s Political Science Resources: Official Foreign Government Web sites
http://www.politicsresources.net/
Congressional Quarterly Almanac Reports on congressional issues and bills passed within the year. Ref
JK 1 .C66
CQ Weekly (formerly Congressional Quarterly Weekly Review) News service reviewing recent
Congressional action, votes, lobby registration, etc. Current periodical shelves.
Congressional Staff Directory District, address, and personnel information on senators, representatives,
their staffs, committees, councils, etc. Ref JK 1012 .C65
Media Law Reporter Text of U.S. Supreme Court decisions in media law. Ref KF 2750 .A513
Official Manual. State of Missouri It has information on state departments and universities; committees,
votes, census statistics, political parties, etc. Ref JK 5431 .S74
Public Papers of the Presidents Public messages, speeches, and statements. Ref J 80 .A283 This is
the permanent compilation of the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents.
United States Government Manual Personnel, activities, and responsibilities of each branch;
departments, commissions, bureaus, etc. Ref JK 421 .A3
Congressional Digest Monthly publication presenting the pro and con arguments of one issue argued
before Congress.
Depository Library Materials
Missouri State University Library is a local U.S. government depository library and receives 85 percent of
all the publications issued by the U.S. government and its agencies. Drury University receives 14 percent
of all government publications.
By law, these libraries must make the materials available to the general public for their research needs.
Researchers should feel free to use those collections and the indexes to them.
In the MSU Library ask the staff about the Depository Collection. It was begun in 1963. The library Web
site mentions asking their staff or using the SWAN catalog. The University library is the only UN
Depository library in Missouri.
The local Springfield-Green Country Library Center is recognized as a depository for local history.
Each of these depositories have knowledgeable staff to help locate needed facts.