Much of what Thomas Mann is relating to us is centered on Precedents. When giving advice on where to begin one's research Mann suggests,
The best way to start many inquiries is to see if someone has already written an overview article outlining the most important facts on the subject...(1).He later recommends, "the first way to find the right subject headings is to look in the red books," the LCSH lists that have been previously generated for us (33). Precedents also concern the history of cataloguing. As students and researches, knowledge of this history is vital if we want to properly utilize the databases at our fingertips. I honestly don't know why this information is not mandatory for all students (unless it is and I missed that day).
Knowing the history of the discourse we are attempting to respond to is also brought up in Graff's piece.
As for Encyclopedias I am grateful that Mann has directed us to them. This is a reference point and a starting point that I have overlooked for my entire college career.
2 comments:
This is the second time I've had to read the Oxford Guide to Library Research, and while the reading is dry, it is certainly helpful. I don't think I would have managed too well for the rest of last year if it had not been for the applications I learned in Mann's book.
I have possibly missed the day on the importance of histories as well, Sarah. Encyclopedia has, at least for the last 8 years, been my worst enemy because I hadn't seen it as a true source of information. I always associated encyclopedic research with high school and middle school, not with university level research. Mann's six and a half page list of encyclopedias was unexpected, but strangely welcomed as starting points.
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