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APSU Librarians have selected high-quality, college
level web sites and added them to Felix. See instructions for
Finding
Internet Resources. If these sites don't meet your needs, you may want to search the Internet
for credible, quality information.
Which search tool is best for
your research?
List & description of search tools
Before starting, make sure you are looking
in the right place for what you need. Just as you would not look in a
book for yesterday's sports scores, there are certain types of
information the Web will not contain. So, don't waste time.
Before searching, ask yourself:
IS THE WEB LIKELY TO CONTAIN THE INFORMATION I
NEED?
(There are some things the web does well, and other things it does
poorly)
If you are looking for extensive information on a topic, gathered
conveniently and compactly in one place, with history or research, with
bibliography and footnotes, you need BOOKS.
If you are looking for scholarly studies, detailed research studies,
or details of clinical or surgical procedures, the web might possibly
have something, but it is not a high probability source. For this kind
of material you should be using PROFESSIONAL AND SCHOLARLY JOURNALS,
and to locate articles in those, you should be using PERIODICAL
DATABASES.
What you CAN expect to find on the net, and what the net does
brilliantly, is:
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Pictures--the net is full of excellent pictorial sources--art,
diagrams, maps, costume, architecture...
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Government information--laws,
court cases, statistics, important historical documents, may all be
found on the net.
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Interactive files--interactive frog dissection, virtual patients,
ask an expert sites, sites that will map routes for you, etc.
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Files of animations, videos, music, and speeches. (Your browsers
will need to have the appropriate attached software for viewing or
listening.) Whenever you need a demonstration of how to do
something, try the internet.
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Reference sources. Use the
Reference
Section of the Internet Public Library's site where pages are
arranged by subject to help narrow your search.
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Discussion forums where you can interact with others in your
field.
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News. The web abounds with timely and reliable local, national,
and international news sources.
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