There are literally hundreds of publications and sources serving as
reference guides and information providers for the fields of government and
public administration.

This Appendix provides suggestions on ways to conduct research in the
field and locate sources to keep those interested in public administration up-to-
date. The ease of access provided by the Internet, World Wide Web, gopher
servers and online databases makes research easier, thereby providing incentives
for administrators to obtain the latest information more frequently.
The availability of the fax machine, e-mail, and direct links with agencies
for online questioning and answering has facilitated and shortened the time line
for communication and information. Most of the information sources available
to public administrators can be easily and quickly found online. Most sources
provide the complete bibliographical reference and an abstract, and many
retrieve the actual work itself. For this reason, the following reference guide to
these sources is representative, rather than comprehensive (a nearly impossible
task due to continual change). The intent is to provide the reader with a guide to
finding appropriate information, recognizing that the Information Age is rapidly
bringing more timely, useful information to the citizenry continuously through
more sophisticated and user-friendly formats.

Electronic searching is the key to modern research techniques and is a
frequently used entry path into libraries, the Internet, indexing systems, and
publications.

Once the search terminology is decided (it is usually preferable for the
user to experiment with a variety of key words), there are several sources for
finding data. The following section provides information on both online and
printed data in the public administration field.

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