The Craft of Research

Below you’ll find a slightly modified version of a tip sheet I used to distribute when giving Nexis.com lessons to reporters at People magazine. I didn’t compile an equivalent document for Factiva, but if you click on the “examples” link adjacent to the free text box in the Factiva search template, you’ll find similar tips. (Unlike Nexis, Factiva includes the Wall Street Journal and the search template for the academic version is identical to that of the professional version.)

• Nexis.com basics

Also, Nexis has its own Commands at-a-glance document.

Columbia University has a “cheat sheet” for both Nexis and Factiva.

Last but not least, our J-school’s Research Center has compiled separate guides for Nexis and Factiva and you can watch a video on Nexis below.

Bonus tip: If you can’t find a source in Nexis or Factiva, try Access World News (video tips here). Google News is good too, but only for the most recent stuff.