As you do your research, keep in mind the following types of sources that you will need to consult. You will hear these terms used in univiersities quite frequently.
a. Primary resources. These include materials written by the person you are researching or "provide first-hand accounts and is sometimes unpublished".¹They could possibly include newspapers or other documents written in the timeframe you are searching.
1) Humanities: letters, manuscripts, musical scores, images, etc.
2) Sciences: data.
b. Secondary sources. These tend interpret for the work of other people or events. They tend to synthesize or interpret primary materials.²
1) Books, textbooks
2) Journals.
c. Tertiary sources. This includes materials found in the reference area in the library. This is helpful to get an overview of your topic.
As you locate your resources, learn to develop a system for keeping track of your sources, quotes, and ideas. Put them in the citation style as directed by your professor.
¹ from UCLA Institute on Primary Sources, http://ipr.ues.gseis.ucla.edu/info/definition.html.
² ditto.
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Quick Intro:
Moody Library has over 250,000 items in the collection and well over 100,000 items are E-books from Ebsco and ebrary. All items are displayed in both catalogs. Use of E-books requires a network account for off-campus access.
Classic Browse Search: The Classic catalog is an excellent tool if you have a specific book or journal title or a specific author that you wish to search. Keyword searching options are a little more focused; i.e., keyword searches could be limited to the title or subject fields.
For other types of searches, choose one of the items on the left under "Find Books and Media".