OPHS Biography Resources

Use the five steps in the Information Management Process to find information on a person.

If you right-click on the links on this page and click on Open in New Window, you can refer back to this page for directions.
 

I. Question

Figure out your topic, the questions you need to answer, and the requirements for your assignment.
 

II. Locate Resources

    A. Keywords  : List important words to use to look up your topic in an index or electronic resource.

    B. Resources :

            SIRS Knowledge Source ® http://sks.sirs.com/ See the OPHS library  for username and password. SIRS Discoverer ® http://discoverer.sirs.com/ has articles that are easier to read and can be sorted by reading level. These are provided by the Library of Virginia in Richmond.

            PWC Public Library Databases http://www.pwcgov.org/library/ Click on Electronic Resources in the left column.
Click on a database in the right column. Type your public library card number to access the databases. You might need to
choose the database again from a list. The following databases are the best for biographies:
                         Biography Resource Center (Gale)
                         Science Online (Facts on File)
                         New Book of Science Online (Grolier)

            FindItVA http://www.finditva.com/ Use your public library card number to access these databases.

        2. Books

            OPHS Library Catalog Use this at school (in the Novell-delivered Applications window). Make sure you type in the person's last name first.

            PW Public Library System Catalog  http://www.pwcgov.org/library/ Click Library Catalog (on left), then click IPAC, to search for books.

        3. World Wide Web Sites These can be trash or treasure; evaluate very carefully.

            African-American Inventors Database http://www.detroit.lib.mi.us/glptc/aaid/index.asp This table, from the Great Lakes Patent and Trademark Center, lists inventors, their inventions, and dates.

            American Memory Project http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ammemhome.html This huge project from the Library of Congress contains many primary source materials. Click on Search to search in all the collections.

            Authors on the Web http://www.people.virginia.edu/~jbh/author.html Click on the first letter of the author's last name.

            Edgar Allen Poe Museum http://www.poemuseum.org/index.html Click on Poe's Life.

            Gale: Free Resources: Click the Biography link on the left side of each of these sites
                Black History Month http://www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/index.htm
                Hispanic Heritage Month http://www.gale.com/free_resources/chh/index.htm
                Poet's Corner http://www.gale.com/free_resources/poets/index.htm
                Women's History Month http://www.gale.com/free_resources/whm/index.htm

            Girl Scouts of the United States http://www.girlscouts.org In Search box, search for "Juliette Gordon Low".

            Google http://www.google.com To search for pictures, click the Images tab and type in your person's name as a search term. (Be very careful what you search for, especially if you're using an unfiltered computer.)

            InfoPlease.com: Biographies http://www.infoplease.com/people.html Search by person or category. In spite of the pop-up ads, these brief biographies include many current people of interest.

            Major League Baseball http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/player/mlb_player_index.jsp Search by last name, position, or team.

            National Basketball League: Players http://www.nba.com/players/ Search by last name.

            National First Ladies' Library http://www.firstladies.org/ Click on the Bibliography link to the left, then click on the First Lady's name or picture.

            National Football League: Players http://www.nfl.com/players Search by last name, position, or team.

            National Museum of Women in the Arts http://www.nmwa.org/ Click on The Collection, then search for the artist's name to find an Artist's Profile. You can then click on Artist's Portfolio to see some examples of her work.

            National Women’s Hall of Fame: Women of the Hall http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php You can search, or click on the first letter of the woman's last name.

            Pictures.com http://www.pictures.com/ Search for your person's name and "photo" (for example, <Oprah Winfrey photo>).

            Presidents & First Ladies http://www.whitehouse.gov/ To search, click on the Search link at the top of the page. You can also click on History & Tours, then look on the left for links to Presidents & First Ladies.

            Presidents of the United States (POTUS) http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/ Click on the President's picture or name.

            U.S. Soccer http://www.ussoccer.com/home/default.sps In Search box on left, search for player's name.

      4. Interviews

             If you know someone who is an expert on your topic, you can get research information from interviewing him or her.
 

III. Evaluate Resources

Make sure each source is Relevant (does it have the information I need?); Readable (remember the 5-finger rule); Accurate; Current (varies according to topic); and Unbiased.

Write down the citation information for each source that you decide to use.

Read, take notes, look for the answers to your questions.

V. Synthesize

Put together the answers you've found to make something new.