ABSTRACT
Personal information is one of the most sensitive areas for the researcher. At the most basic level there are four major sources for profiles of people: rich lists, who’s whos, the press and biographies. If the person people are researching is wealthy then they can start off with one of the published rich lists. These are generally published by the press, though there are also some books available. The press versions generally have the advantage of appearing annually but books can often provide more detail. Large research departments generally maintain files of press cuttings on people who might prove to be useful. There are also newspaper indexes in book form, which can often be found in libraries. However these are rapidly becoming superseded by electronic forms of access. Autobiographies are clearly likely to be subjective. Some people have several biographies written on them.
