The two most commonly used aspects of the Internet are email and the World
Wide Web. If you use an Internet service provider (AOL, ATT WorldNet, etc.)
on your home computer, a free email account is included as part of the service.
If you do not have an email account (or a home computer), find out if your school
offers free accounts to students. If not, consider opening a free account on
one of the web-based email services such as Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail.com. There
are a few disadvantages to these services (such as relative small storage limits),
so read the fine print. Email enables you to contact anyone and everyone, so
long as they have an email address of their own-friends, family members, and
even your instructors. The World Wide Web is an expansive collection of information. You can use the
Web to visit libraries and museums, search for a job, network with people who
share your interests, consult with a doctor, read the news, find the address
of a long lost friend, buy books and CDs, took an exotic vacation. And that's
just the beginning. The Web is also a tremendous tool for researchers, but the
sheer wealth of available information can be intimidating to a beginner. No
one can truly "master" the vast quantities of information Web, but there are
several tools that will help you to navigate it.
Search Engines Search engines allow you to search the web by entering keywords. There are
a variety of search engines available; the table below lists some of the most
popular: Search Tool | Description | AltaVista | Comprehensive full-text search engine. Searches Web and Usenet.
Can limit returns by date, location(s), language; retrieves large number
results (not always relevant). Use when doing a specific search for
obscure information. | Excite | Search engine. Offers in-depth subject arrangement and concept
searching (automatically searches related terms) and indexes Internet
sites and Usenet;. | Lycos | Search engine. Can limit returns by title, pictures, sounds,
URL, language. Results returned with good organization by relevance. | Dogpile | Metasearch engine. Searches multiple engines at one time (currently,
AltaVista, Excite, Infoseek, LookSmart, Lycos, The Mining Co., WebCrawler,
and Yahoo!). Consolidates results, ranked by a score derived from the
rankings of each of the search engines listing each site. | Yahoo | Subject directory to selected resources, rather than a full-text
search engine. Searches for Web, Usenet sites. Searches keywords only.
Numerous directories available; passes on searches to full-text search
engine. Use when browsing, for subject categories, overviews of topic.
Returns not organized by relevance. |
Searching Tips To perform a key word search, enter the word or words that describe your subject.
For example, if you are searching for information about Internet censorship
and you enter those two words, AltaVista will find web pages that contain
either of the words anywhere - together or separately. If you add plus signs before each word -- +Internet +censorship - you will
ensure that AltaVista will return only sites that contain both words. If you
wish to exclude certain concepts - say, you are interested in the Internet and
censorship but not in pornography - you could search as follows: +Internet
+censorship -pornography. To narrow the search further, search for a phrase rather than words by placing
the words in double quotes: "Internet censorship." Then AltaVista will find
only those pages containing both words in a single phrase. You may also narrow your findings by conducting an "advanced search." This
allows you to perform a "Boolean" search, using the terms AND, OR, NOT, and
NEAR. For example you might search for "women writers" AND paris AND NOT poets.
Details on conducting advanced searches are provided on the search engine's
home page. Use an asterisk (*) when you want your search to include different possible
endings for your keyword. For example you might search intern* to locate information
on interns, internships, and interning. Most search engines function by similar rules. For specifics, check out the
instructions on the engine's home page. Evaluating Web Sources All websites are not created equal. While you should examine all potential
resources, print and nonprint, for relevance, accuracy, bias, and so forth,
you must scrutinize sources you find via the Internet more carefully
than those you find in print, for the simple reason that virtually anyone who
has a computer and an Internet access provider can post his or her own web page
with no editing, no fact-checking, no reviews - no oversight of any kind, in
fact. When your search yields a long list of sites to visit, as is most often the
case, the first thing to do is scan the sites for their institutional affiliations
(or lack thereof). These can be determined in many cases by a look at the URL-"Uniform
Resource Locator," also referred to as the "web address." The first term in
the URL will indicate what server hosts the material; the extension (the three
letters that follow the "dot") can give you some idea what to expect from the
site: Extension | type
of site | .edu | Educational institution.
For research purposes, these sites are often the most reliable. Remember,
though, that students are often given space on their schools' servers
for their own webpages, and these are not necessarily reliable for research,
depending on their function. Exercise caution. | .org | Non-profit organization.
These often provide useful information for the researcher. Beware, though,
of the potential for institutional bias. | .com | Commercial site. You
will encounter these frequently. As far as research goes, they range
from the legitimate (well-researched sites paid for by scholars not
affiliated with an institution, or by those at institutions with unreliable
servers) to the questionable (ads, rants, scams, etc.). These must be
evaluated carefully. | .gov | Government site. Various
branches of the government provide much solid information. Though it
tends to be factual/objective, beware here (as in the case of .org sites)
of institutional bias. | .mil | Military site. Publicly
accessible sites contain information about military institutions. See
.gov and .org entries. | .net | Large computer networks.
The distinction between .net and .com sites is rapidly disappearing,
as competition for desirable URLs has increased. Same rules as .com
apply; sites should be evaluated with care. |
The brief descriptions of the site provided by your search engine should contribute
to your decision about whether the site deserves a closer look. Once you decide
to visit the site, of course, the same rules you apply to print sources apply:
consider authorship, the sponsoring institution, date, presumed audience/purpose,
etc., and cross-check facts if possible from reliable information you already
have available to you. When you're sure a site is worth using for your research, be sure you document
it properly. For an discussion of improper borrowing and tips on documentation,
see Plagiarism and the Internet [link to new document]. General Reference Materials Available Online For encyclopedias, almanacs, reference guides and useful links,
try visiting: Refdesk.com:
Very thorough and well-organized site of research and reference links. Includes
Facts Search Desk, Current News and Features, links to a host of online information
databases, and much more. Virtual
Reference Desk (Purdue University) The WWW Virtual Library:
The oldest online catalog of the web, compiled wholly by volunteers. Consists
of pages of carefully selected and maintained key links for particular areas
of the web (Agriculture, Education, Science, Society, etc.). Brittanica Online FedWorld Information Network
Home Page: links to U.S. government reports and web sites Library of
Congress Home Page Los Angeles Times New York Times Project Gutenberg: online
versions of classic and public-domain books U.S. Census Bureau Home
Page CIA
Publications & Reports Internet Movie Database Dictionaries,
Thesauri, and Grammar Guides Online
Writing Labs (OWLs)
Many OWLs include online handouts, access to tutoring services, links to other
writing resources such as dictionaries and a thesaurus, resources for Internet
research, electronic discussion areas, and links to other OWLs and Writing Centers.
If online tutoring is offered, remember that the priority for these services
-- online as well as offline -- will be for registered students at that college
or university. The link above offers a selected list with brief descriptions
emphasizing these OWLs' main features. Other
online writing resources: Links to writers' organizations, composition
sites, English as a Second Language resources, etc. Specialized
Directories to Internet discussion groups, Internet addresses, Internet
white pages, etc. Internet Guides There are numerous books and electronic resources available to help you develop
your Internet research skills. The following sites will get you off to a good
start: M.O.R.E.
(McGraw-Hill Online Resources for English) Direct Links to Internet Research
Resources: includes links to resources covering Internet reference, netiquette,
research across the curriculum, evaluating Internet sources, copyright issues,
and documentation conventions. The
McGraw-Hill Guide to Electronic Research and Documentation by Diana Roberts
Wienbroer: a detailed, step-by-step guide to online research and correct citation. Return to top |
2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education