The Working Bibliography


I.

WHAT IS A WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY?

The primary purposes of a a working bibliography are for you:

        • to identify the most important sources you will use for your research
        • to identify which aspects of your research the sources address
        • to identify their availability and location
        •  to provide a complete and accurate bibliographical or resource list citation



II.

HOW TO CREATE A WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY

        1. Through the use of on-line databases and library catalogs, identify sources that are likely to address various aspects of your research
        2. Use proper citation techniques to write down the entire citation of the work.
        3. Indicate the location of the work, including the call number if it is at a library.
        4. If the work is not at our library but needs to be ordered through Interlibrary Loan, indicate the exact place where you got the reference (e.g., UnCover, EBSCOHost).  Interlibrary Loan more or less wants confirmation that the work does in fact exist and that you're not making it up.
        5. As you type up your list, try to group the potential sources according to the aspect of your research they will address.
You are not expected to have obtained and/or reviewed the sources at this point.

BUT:

Since many sources are found by looking through the bibliography of other sources, you may want to obtain three or four of what you think may be the most important of the sources so that you can use their bibliographies to "snowball" -- that is, as leads to other sources.
 
 

AND A WARNING:

Interlibrary Loan can take up to two weeks or longer to deliver books and/or articles.
If you think that any of your sources may need to come from Interlibrary loan, go fill out the appropriate slip in the library immediately.


III.

AN EXAMPLE

Click here to see an example of a final bibliography that,
while much more extensive and thorough than your working bibliography should be at this point,
gives an idea of grouping by topic and location and so on.


IV.

HOW MANY WORKS?

This simply just depends on the nature of your own specific research.  Sorry, there is no "right" answer to this question.


V.

WHAT ABOUT THE INTERNET?

The Internet can be a very valuable resource.
However, you are expected to include accepted scholarly sources, such as
books written by scholars; articles from peer-reviewed journals; and government legal, corporate, and similar reports.

Do not rely exclusively on the Internet.

Use appropriate Internet citation techniques for anything you use off the Internet.