How to make a paper presentation?: Required types of data and sources to find

Different Forms of Data and Sources

The second step in making a presentation is collection of data. This is the biggest problem a ppt maker faces. You should know how and where to find data, then it’s a piece of cake. Here are some guidelines on gathering the data required for your ppt.

Data from open source websites

This is perhaps the easiest source for data. All you have to do is Google your topics and lo you’ll find the information from open source websites. I bet every ppt maker goes for Wikipedia but there are some other websites where you can find information related to your topic. Some of them are.

Wikihow	Answers
Howstuffworks	eHow
Wikia	Reference
About	YahooAnswers

Note: Use proper keywords and technical terms for refined and accurate results.

Images

Try searching images related to your topic. Images make your presentation livelier.They also help to create a reference for a given explanation.

The easiest way to find them is to GoogleImages or use MSNphotos , YahooImages. But wait, there’s a better option there are some sites completely dedicated for images. Try these.

Flickr	PhotoBucket	DeviantArt
TwitPic	ImageShack	TinyPic
WebShots	Imgur	ShutterFly
SmugMug	Fotolog	Photo.net
4chan	SnapFish	Slide

Note: Watch out for images with copyright issues .

Figures and Representation of figures

Facts and figures add strength to your point. Don’t forget to include whatever info you have about your topic in the form of facts and figures. You can find this part in the web. For example if you are working on a project regarding UNO you can get data from UNO’s official website that will be of great value.

If you have figures that are cumbersome to represent and understand try turning them to charts , bar graphs etc. this drive home the point easily instead of figures. MS Excel offers a good range of options to turn data to charts. Try it.

Readymade ppts and online documents

One of the most preferred options is to find readymade ppt on your topic. Just type your topic followed by ppt in your search engine. You can also search it in sites which solely host ppts as follows

Scribd	Alltop
Docstoc	Calaméo
Edocr	Googledocs

Data as Pdf , eBooks, Audio clips

Type your topic followed by pdf in a search engine. It displays the list of available pdfs on the web . Normally these are technical papers on that topic and turn out to be a good option.

Find out the available books in your library that deal on your topic. Get your faculty’s help on this. Another way is to search in Googlebooks. Usually books have reliable and accurate data and you can also list them in your references. Some websites offer audio clips on topics they may range from discussions to expert opinion on a topic. Try searching for them

Note: Don’t waste time in analysis of the entire pdf. Just go through headings and use the find option (Ctrl+f).

Booksshouldbefree	Learnoutloud	OverDrive
ThoughtAudio	LibriVox	Podiobooks
Open Culture	Project Gutenberg	Librophile

Video clips

You can also add video clips to explain a certain point in your ppt. If not you can convert parts of your video to images and put to use. Apart from YouTube there are other sites that can help you.

	TED
Big Think	Metacafe	Atom
Blip.tv	5 Min	Hulu
Vimeo	Stickam	UStream
Blinkx	Current TV	World Wide Internet TV

Blog and forum discussions

Your topic may have been someone else’s interest also at some point. One way to find it out is to find blogs and forums related to your topic. Just type your idea followed by blog/forum and you should get your job done. You can also go for some of the blog or forum platforms below platforms below

IndiBlogger	Technorati	Sphere
TypePad.com	Six Apart	IceRocket blog search
TrakBlog	Blogdigger	Google Blog Search
TechCrunch	Big Boards	Ubuntu Forums

News papers Yearbooks and journals

You can also add articles from news papers in your ppt. Find relevant articles from the newspapers. Also search for Yearbooks available in your country. They have excellent data and can be very helpful.

Reader's Digest	ComputerWorld
IBMJournals	IETEJournals
MicrosoftAcademicResearch	About.com
The Weekly Standard	Taki's Magazine

Official websites

If you happen to make a ppt related to organizations or establishments. The best place to search for data is to surf through their official websites.

Human resources

This is simply masking use of the people around you. Generally we cannot assess a person’s knowledge on a topic unless we get them to talk. So try discussing topics with your friends they may help you with ideas or direct you to resources.

Surveys

Adding survey data can make your presentation look applicable.

Try to find surveys about your topic. Usually Universities and NGO’s conduct surveys which ;you can use. some web sites conducting surveys