Expert Research Help from IUB Libraries

When and Why Books and Newspapers are Useful 

Where do I find books and newspapers?

Books are a great resource to use when you are just starting out on your assignment and need to learn more about your general research topic. 

Books provide:

• Broad overviews of a general topic

• Basic facts

• Information on more specific areas within your topic, which can give you ideas on ways to narrow your research topic into something more manageable

Books usually do not provide:

• Information on very recent or current events (because of the length of time needed to write and publish a book)

Newspaper articles are particularly useful if you are interested in researching current events, public opinions, or media representations of an event or issue. 

Newspapers provide: 

• Coverage of current or very recent events

• Firsthand accounts

• Information on public opinions about an event or issue

• Insight into media representations of an issue

*Always keep in mind that newspaper articles are written by journalists, not scholarly researchers, and are directed towards a much more general audience than scholarly articles or monographs. Because of this, newspaper articles are generally not considered to be scholarly sources.

IUCAT 

This is the library' s catalog. You can search for BOOKS here by title, author, or keyword. 

​IU Libraries Full-Text E-Journals

Search for a specific NEWSPAPER title.

Major U.S. Newspapers

This library guide lists major U.S. newspapers and where to find them.

Global News Sources

This library guide has information on where to find different global newspapers.