Using the topic that you have decided upon in module three, search Voyager or another library catalog. Select three documents from the results list (they can be all books or a combination of books, videos, pamphlets, etc.) that you think most likely to provide the information you need and explain why you selected them. The bibliographic record will give sufficient information about each document for you to answer the questions. However, it is best that you come in the library and examine the documents yourself. For each document selected, give detailed description of the document and its appropriateness for your topic. Factors that weight in your decision should include:

• What do you know about the author? Is he a specialist in the field and has written many books? (The catalog will provide links to the author's other books owned by the library, a good indication of the author's authority. Books in Print, Book Review Digest, Contemporary Authors are excellent sources to learn about an author's body of works; search under the author's last name. )
• What does the subject content of the book tell you about its relevancy for your topic?
• Can you tell about a book content by its title?
• Is the publisher a respected and well-known publishing house? (Again, search the library catalog to find out how many books by this publisher currently in the library collection. Does the publisher produce many books on a certain subject?)
• Is currency important with this topic and why is it so?
• Does the document provide a serious information or is it propaganda with an agenda? (Oftentimes, the cover or the book jacket give good indication of the nature of a book).

Part II. Periodicals

You will make comparisons between a popular magazine and a scholarly journal. You may use either print or electronic version of the periodical. For some periodicals, LBCC Library subscribes to them in both print and electronic formats.
The main purpose of this assignment is to compare the contents (type, length, and quality of articles) and the presentation (type and quality of graphics, advertisements) of the two different types of periodicals.

Select one scholarly journal and one popular magazine of your choice.

A. For the print version, leaf through the whole issue of each periodical and briefly scan through the articles in both periodicals.

B. For electronic version, log on to ProQuest Direct and perform a publication search. After logging-in, click on Continue; this will bring you to the next screen where you see the New Search feature with three selections: by word, for publication, by topic. Click on for publication, then type in the dialog box the name of the publication you have chosen or you may also select from the alphabetical list of publications provided by ProQuest Direct by clicking on List publications. Scroll down the list and click on the names of two periodicals of your choice, making sure to select one scholarly and one popular publication. This will take you the screen with a list of issues available sorted by date, the most current one being listed first. Click on the most current issue and briefly look at a few articles to determine the type and size of the articles.

C. Make comparisons by listing characteristics of each periodical. You may create two separate columns, one for each periodical, or you may write a paragraph for each periodical. Whatever format you chose, answer the following questions about each periodical:

1. Is information such as expertise and qualifications of the article's author included?
2. What is the nature and the length of most articles?
3. Are there advertisements? What kind and how many?
4. Is there a bibliography at the end of each article?
5. What kind of graphics (i.e. educational, promotional, or decorative) are included?
6. Discuss similarities and differences between the two publications.