 Before you begin searching for sources for an assignment, think about what kind of information you need. This should help you decide which kinds of sources you're looking for and in turn, where you should go to find them. Just as you probably wouldn't run a Google search to confirm the date of your friend's birthday or call your dentist's office to find out what the weather will be like tomorrow. There are many library resources that are very useful for finding some kinds of information but not others. We have databases that will help you find journal articles, books, films, audio recordings, theses and dissertations, encyclopedias and dictionaries, newspaper articles, book reviews and statistical data. Some provide access to multiple kinds of sources but many include only one type. Among those that you can use to find journal articles, most focus on particular subject areas. So a database that's great for finding articles related to neuroscience may be of little use in your history course, for example. To help you choose the best tools for finding the sources you need, we've created library help guides. You can find them through the guides tab on the library's homepage. The subject guides listed in the middle column typically include different tabs for different kinds of sources. They will direct you to the best databases for finding materials relevant to your particular subject area. There are also guides dedicated to specific kinds of sources such as statistical data, maps, newspapers, legal resources and government information. Also, keep in mind that you may need to use multiple search tools to find the information you need. An encyclopedia article could be useful in getting a broad overview of a topic that's new to you or in confirming a particular fact about your research topic. Newspaper articles can provide you with an understanding of what kind of attention an issue has received in the media. And note that because scholarly articles typically take months to be published, they are often unhelpful when information on current events is needed. Government websites can be excellent sources of statistical data or information on legislation. Even if you're just looking for journal articles, it can be helpful to search more than one database, especially if you're wanting to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the research that's been done on a topic or if you're interested in different disciplinary perspectives. In other videos, we look at some useful techniques to help you find what you're looking for once you've chosen one or more databases to search.