The Internet: A Community of the World

Learning online is a gift of technology. The computer is almost like many libraries around the world. Information and entertainment come easy and helpful as used wisely by students, professionals, workplaces and homes.

Learn these easy steps to conduct your research:

A.

1. Consult general reference works to gain background information and basic facts, bibliographies, computerized data bases and other sources.

2. Use Almanacs and Yearbooks to provide up-to-date information on any topic along with statistical facts.

Atlases like the Hammond Atlas, the National Geographic Atlas of the World, and the New York Times Atlas of the World can help you identify places anywhere in the world and provide information about climate, places, and industry.

3. Consult Biographical Dictionaries ( noted authors of all time and contemporary authors), dictionaries (give correct usage of words and some information), and Encyclopedias (provide primary information and explanations). Random House and the new Columbia Encyclopedia give brief overviews. Collier’s and Encyclopedia Britannica contain more detailed information.

4. Find specialized reference works

Bibliographies and indexes are tools. They help locate books and periodicals like magazines, newspapers, etc.

B.Computerized Resources

1. Databases are large collections of electronically stored information that function like indexes. Many library catalogs today are computerized as well, in the form of online databases.

Internet links, websites, and blogs are sources of additional and updated information.

Searching for works that are relevant to your topic is called browsing.




Most online catalogs allow you to perform key word searches. Making your keyword specific as possible will result in the most useful list.

Other sources of information are documentaries, surveys, special/rare articles/book collections.


2. Searching Online

The internet is a vast network of networks.

It is composed of the Electronic Mail (e-mail) where you can send electronic messages to any of millions of people around the world, newsgroups and blogs which serves as public bulletins, among others.

3. World Wide Web

While the rest of the Net is primarily text-based, the Web employs texts, pictures, graphics, videos, and more.

Web pages are linked to the others. To read Web pages, you need a browser program like the Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, or Yahoo! Web crawlers also search the Web and a number of web tools, pages and links.

3.Evaluating

The more you research, the more expert you become at determining whether a source is useful.

Know the subject. Is the subject directly related to my research question? Does it provide information that support my view?

How about the author? What do I already know about the author’s reputation? Is the author cited by other sources? Am I aware of any biases that might limit the author’s credibility?

When was the source published (date)?

Who published the source (publisher)?

The electronic address suffix

.edu educational institution
.com commercial or business
.gov government
.mil military
.net various types of networks
.org nonprofit organizations

Check this:

How dated or current is the information?
How literate or accurate is the site?

In college research papers, the original published source will be considered somewhat more reliable. The fact that it is duplicated on a Web page (ownership to original author/writer) is a testimony to further texts/manuscript utility.

Hope this helped.

Rose Flores – Martinez
IShallWrite
RoseVoc2

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