News sources can be invaluable research resources. There are various types of news sources you can choose from, including:

• newspapers
• newsreels
• newswires
• news magazines
• news monitoring services etc.

They provide contemporaneous accounts of events as they emerge and unfold, affording a snapshot of developments at a point in time.

By using news archive services, you can also engage in historical research by tracing commentary on issues over time, to identify and track changing political, economic and social trends. For example, when did global warning first emerge as a ‘hot topic’ in the press? Who are the major pressure groups and organisations debating this agenda? How has terminology in this area developed and changed over time?, etc.

The availability of news resources online allows for very effective and comprehensive searching, in a way that was impossible with print or microfilm / microfiche editions of the newspapers when research could be a very long, laborious and somewhat haphazard process.

A new online guide introduces you to the main news sources that are available to you through the University of Exeter.  It touches briefly on print and microfilm news materials so that you are aware of the full range of news content available to you. However, the majority of the guide concentrates on online news services as these are the key tools for any researcher who wishes to conduct comprehensive news research. We look at our online services for current news, archival news and also audiovisual sources.

Take a look at the guide which is available within the Library & Research Skills module on ELE.

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