Finding Biographical Information

1
Finding Biographical Information

• Honors 201
• Fall 2004

2
Annotation Author Information

• Describe the authors qualifications, experience,
  and background related to the topic Herbert
  London, the Dean of Journalism at New York
  University and author of several books and
  articles on ethics in journalism

3
Types of Authors/Writers

• Regular staff writer for a newspaper or magazine
• Search authors name in Lexis-Nexis Academic
• News/feature writer whose articles are regularly
  featured in a variety of publications
• Scholar in the field publishes books and
  articles in journals of the discipline
• Other

4
Within the Database

• Search the authors name in databases such as
• WorldCat
• Academic Search Premier
• Subject databases, such as PsycInfo, ERIC,
  Biological Abstracts
• Finds other publications
• Another publication may give biographical info

5
Web Searches

• If you do find author affiliations, confirm them
  particularly if the information is from an
  older article.
• Web searches can be useful, but the information
  isnt always reliable and common names can be
  problematic.

6
Biographical Resources Electronic

• Biography and Genealogy Master IndexCoverage
  Full set. Indexes current and retrospective
  reference works containing multiple biographies.
  10 million entries.
• Biography IndexCoverage 1946 - present.
  Coverage includes English-language periodicals
  and more than 1,800 books added each year.
• Contemporary AuthorsCoverage pre 1960 -
  present. A bio-bibliographical guide, CA covers
  more than 100,000 current writers in a wide range
  of media. Now part of the Literature Resource
  Center.

7
Biographical Sources Electronic

• LexisNexis AcademicCoverage varies. Replaces
  Lexis-Nexis. Search for news, legislation,
  business, transcripts, and more. Features full
  text of many newspapers.
• Access ScienceCoverage 8th edition plus
  updates. Search 7,000 articles, 115,000
  definitions, and biographies of more than 1,200
  key scientists in the online version the
  McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science Technology.

8
Biographical Sources Print

• American National Biography. 24 vols. REF
  CT213 .A68
• The successor to the Dictionary of American
  Biography (see below). A historical work (does
  not include living persons) with a broader scope
  than the DAB.
• Dictionary of American Biography. 10 vols. REF
  E176 .D563
• Signed scholarly articles on noteworthy persons
  of the U.S. (including the colonial period). Does
  not include living persons.
• Dictionary of National Biography. 22 vols. REF
  DA 28 .D56
• Signed scholarly articles on persons of the
  British Isles and Colonies. Does not include
  living persons.

9
Biographical Sources Print

• Directory of American Scholars. 6 vols. REF
  LA2311 .D57
• Biographical reference source of North American
  scholars. Six volumes v. 1. History,
  archaeology and area studies -- v. 2. English,
  speech and drama -- v. 3. Foreign languages,
  linguistics and philology -- v. 4. Philosophy,
  religion and law -- v. 5. Psychology, sociology,
  and education -- v.6. Indexes.
• Who's Who. 1904-2002. REF DA28 .W6
• Includes persons living at the time of
  publication. Has British emphasis. It includes
  some persons of international renown. Check BGMI
  first to know which year to search.
• Who's Who in America. 1809-2003. REF E176 .W642
• Includes persons living at the time of
  publication. This biographical dictionary is
  published every two years. It is indexed in BGMI,
  so check there first to see which year/volume.

10
Other Sources of Biographical Information

• Obituaries
• Search Lexis-Nexis Academic News for
  obituaries appearing in newspapers in the last
  fifteen years (roughly). The New York Times
  Index (back to 1851) indexes obituaries published
  in the New York Times.
• Subject specific biographical encyclopedias and
  dictionaries