| Where to Find Reliable Information Online |
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| Written by Lorna Doone Brewer | ||||||||
| Tuesday, 09 June 2009 13:19 | ||||||||
 There are many reasons why your nonprofit might need to access informational resources. Whether you're working on developing a website, creating your monthly newsletter, or coming up with compelling reasons for donors to take an avid (and deep-pocketed) interest in your organization, facts and figures create the backbone of everything we say.
Today's Internet age means that information is more readily accessible than ever before. Between search engines and the all-pervasive Wikipedia, it seems all you have to do is type in a few words and the information you seek will appear at your fingertips. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case; although you can get factual information online, it does take a little elbow grease to get there. Primary Resources vs. Secondary ResourcesFor any type of real research, you want to access primary resources. These are research studies, documents, speeches, government reports, or even emails from witness accounts. They are pieces of information that come directly from the source. In most cases, secondary resources will also work for researching purposes. These are any types of documents that directly report on a primary resource. They are history books, encyclopedias, literary analyses, or textbooks. Things that you find online, like blogs, article warehouses, and Wikipedia are neither primary nor secondary. They tend to be steeped in opinion and may or may not have ties to a valid resource of any kind. Where to Find the Right ResourcesFortunately, there are places to go online if you need to find some facts and figures for your next report: New York Public Library Digital Collections Although some of these resources do require an annual fee for use, you might be able to check with them to find discounted rates for nonprofits. In the end, it's much better to be certain you're using valid and current information even if it does take a little extra digging! | ||||||||
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About the Author: Dianne Crampton is Group Development Consultant and Leadership Coach. For the past twenty years she has helped not-for-profit leaders and their teams learn how to work well together to consistently achieve goals with high levels of group and individual satisfaction. She is also the founder of the TIGERS group development model. The model addresses six collaborative core values necessary for creating an ethical, quality-focused and successful team culture. The values are trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. The TIGERS model passed a rigorous validation study through Gonzaga University and was Crampton’s dissertation for her Master’s of Arts designation in Organizational Leadership. As president of TIGERS Success Series, Dianne has published in a business anthology endorsed by Stephen Covey and written for trade magazines. Merrill Lynch nominated her business for Inc. Magazine’s regional small business and entrepreneurial awards. Her work with Native Americans was recognized at a United Nations sponsored conference in 1994. Dianne is also the creator and distributor of the TIGERS Team Wheel game. This game helps Board Chairs and Executive Directors identify behaviors that build collaborative groups and behaviors that cause conflict, morale problems, production failures, and misunderstandings. For more information go to http://www.corevalues.com/Game.htm |
