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Finding Internet Resources
The Internet can be a very useful and interesting
medium for doing research. However, it is important to distinguish
between library databases and web-based e-resources, for which the
library has a paid subscription, and those that are available on the
web for free.
Here are some important considerations to keep in mind when searching
the web:
1. Anyone can publish "information" on the web.
2. There is no complete list of web sites.
3. There are no official organizers, catalogers, or evaluators of
the web.
4. Sites constantly change; new sites are constantly created; and
sites often disappear.
5. Finally, there are no standards for web search tools.
When you use the web for research, don't assume:
1. You can find it faster.
2. The information is more current.
3. The information is just as reliable.
Searching is not evaluating. Given the nature of
web information, it's vital to evaluate the web pages you discover.
See Evaluating Web Pages for things to consider when evaluating
a web page.
Types of Internet Resources:
Directories: used for browsing by subject
and finding quality web sites.
Academic Info
| Britannica | INFOMINE
| Internet Public Library | Librarians
Index to the Internet | Yahoo
Search Engines: used for finding specific sites or specific
information.
AltaVista | Excite
| Google | HotBot
| Lycos | Northern
Light | Teoma | Yahoo
| WiseNut | ZapMeta
Metasearch Engines: used for broadcast searching for obscure
keywords and getting an overview of what's available
DogPile | Inference
Find | Ixquick | Metacrawler
| ProFusion | SavvySearch
Portals: used for finding the most popular types of information
(weather, stock quotes, sport scores, etc.).
Excite
| Go.com | Lycos
| NBCi | Yahoo!
More about Internet Searching:
Search
Engine Showdown
An excellent source for comparing the search engines. Comparisons
of the search options that each engine offers are also available.
Search Engine Watch
Provides news, commentary, and comparisons of search engines. This
site includes reviews of search engines and links to web searching
tutorials.
Updated August 2002
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