Speak with Substance: a Guide to Finding and Using Information Effectively
Talk to people!
Use the strategies you already rely on to connect with people in your everyday life. Talk to someone you know or ask someone in your networks for a referral.
"New Phone is Old" by Neozoon is marked with CC BY 2.0
Lesson: Lived experiences & testimony
Finding personal experiences
Strategies for finding lived experiences:
- Talk to people you know -- reaching out to those in your personal, college or work life circles is a great start (think: Social Media connections, too!).
- News or social media -- add the word "interview" to a search to find trending stories or interviews with people that have first-hand experience.
- TED Talks -- examples of where experts might be sharing viewpoints based on their experience.
- Interviews -- consider reaching out to a local non-profit or group working on the issue and ask if there's someone who can speak to the topic in an interview.
Critical questions to keep in mind when deciding whether to use a source:
- What viewpoint of perspective does this represent?
- What new or different information does it provide?
- Is the example coming from within the community and from direct experience?
Finding testimony in the news
The library databases below have collections of newspapers and magazines. Add the word "interview" or "case study" to a search in order to find examples in news sources.
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Alt-PressWatch This link opens in a new windowA full text collection of newspapers, magazines and journals of the alternative and independent press. View the Alt-Press Watch handout.
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Ethnic Newswatch This link opens in a new windowFull text newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic minority and native press. Provides a rich collection of articles, editorials, and reviews with a broad diversity of perspectives and viewpoints. Also a good source of ethnic recipes. Coverage is from 1980 to the present. View the Ethnic NewsWatch handout
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New York Times Online This link opens in a new windowUnlimited access to the New York Times on NYTimes.com. See Get Started with the New York Times Online to set up your subscription through PCC Library. Once you have set up your subscription, you can go directly to NYTimes.com and sign in using your personal account.
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US Major Dailies This link opens in a new windowFull text newspapers from five U.S. national and regional newspapers: New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune