With term papers just around the corner, students need all the help they can get on how to research articles on the World Wide Web. As with all informational projects, it’s hard to know where to start. So I made my way to the RWC Library to see what I could find out. Who did I bump into but Ms. Heather Maloney Noyes, the new librarian in town. She provided me with the following very useful information.
Before starting any research paper or project, be sure to clarify what sources are required for the paper’s successful completion. Make sure you understand what your professor wants. For example, you may be required to use three print resources and three electronic resources with only one of your electronic resources being an Internet site. If you have the wrong set of resources, you may be surprised to find a low grade on your paper, even if the paper is substantial.
After you have a good understanding of what is required of you, then you should proceed to the library. Choosing the right tool to do your research is very important. Search engines are most likely to be your first tool of choice. They are commonly used for finding facts or specific known pieces of information. Google, Teoma, or AllTheWeb are a few examples.
Beware: search engines can be limiting, even though the search technology has gotten better, and they may not be able to get you to all of the available information.
Your next choice for searching may be a subject directory. Yahoo! is a good example of a subject directory. This search tool works well for browsing information categorized into subjects. If you have a broad subject–“Biology,” for example–and need to narrow it down to a specific topic, going to Yahoo! would be an excellent way to do that. Again, though, remember that there may be a whole slew of information that you may miss out on because the subject directory may not be able to find it for you.
The largest portion of the Internet is searchable only through a database and is called the “invisible” or “deep” web. To avoid missing this information, go directly to the site, or use the Indexes and specialized sources through the RWC Library.
Authoritative information may be found in indexes such as Librarian’s Index to the Internet (LII), INFOMINE (Scholarly Internet Resource Collections), and the Internet Public Library. According to Heather Maloney Noyes, librarians who maintain these indexes are sure that the information presented is trustworthy.
Specialized sources are yet another way to research. If you need to research statistical information, the U.S. Census Bureau and American Factfinder have their own websites at www.census.gov, and factfinder.census.gov, respectively. FedStats at www.fedstats.gov is a compilation of links to other government statistic sites and can also be a good starting point. The University of Michigan has also gathered links to authoritative statistics web sites covering a wide range of topics.
Lastly, always evaluate the reliability of the information presented on the web page. You want the best information for your research paper. Check the page for a “Last Updated” tag, to verify that the information is the most current available. Identify the author and source of the information. You may need to find the home page in order to do this.
Is the author an expert or authority in the field? If not, be sure to verify with your instructor that you can use a personal website. Personal pages oftentimes contain opinions and biases that may not be pertinent to your topic.
Lastly, identify the domain name and think about whether this is the most relevant for your research. A “.com” is a commercial business, an “.edu” is an educational institution, an “.org” is a not-for-profit organization, and a “.gov” is a government listing.
As with all research projects, starting is the hardest step. If you can get past this, you are on your way to completing your paper. If these tools don’t help, or if you are still stuck on a research-related question, the RWC librarians are available to assist you. Don’t be afraid to ask them questions. Happy writing!