Examples of Thought Processes
Question - When and where was the term "mommy track" first used in print?
As discussed above, there is a specific source that tracks usage of words -- the Oxford English Dictionary. So I could use the print or online version, though the online one is more up to date than the print one, which came out in 1989. So I went to the online Oxford English Dictionary and typed in mommy track in the search box in the upper right hand corner. It gave me a definition and as well as 3 examples, the earliest being from 1988.
This isn't the type of question that could be answered by a free source. It takes time and money to collect this kind of information, so why would anyone just give it away for free?
Question - When was John Lee Hooker born?
First I would need to find out who John Lee Hooker was, if I don’t already know. So assuming I didn't, I would start out with general biographical sets, like the Encyclopedia of World Biography or the American National Biography. If the person is obscure enough that they are not in the general sets (as in this case), then try the Biography & Genealogy Master Index, to find what works the person is listed in. If these sets don’t answer our question, they will at least tell us about him in general, like what his profession is, a popular musician (specifically blues). Then I would look for subject encyclopedias or biographical books about blues music or popular music. I would search through more than one of them, since each one will have different information about him, including perhaps (horrors!) conflicting information.
If I used Google, I'd need to verify the authenticity of the information. Since he passed away in 2001, he's not going to have his own personally maintained website. (There is a www.johnleehooker.com, but I don't see anything really telling me who put it together.) While I'm sure that there are lots of fan sites that aim to be accurate, it would be more work reading several of them to cross-verify the information. But if I wanted to know when to send Bono a birthday card, finding the official U2 website would make sense. |
