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Researching from Off Campus

Essential Search Tools -- When to Use the Web

Who puts info on the web and why?
    Educational institutions (curricular information and library databases)
    Non-profit organizations (information and advocacy)
    Government organizations (information for the public good)
    Individuals (interests, hobbies, advocacy)
    Private companies (underlying motive is to sell directly or by advertising)

Internet myths
    Everything is on the Internet (especially not copyrighted materials)
    Everything is free (library pays for EBSCO, FirstSearch, Lexis-Nexis, etc.)
    You can trust information you find on the Internet
        - Anybody on the Internet can and often does publish!
        - There is no central body organizing or cataloging the whole thing.
        - The web is rarely edited or reviewed in the same way as print media.

Sometimes, information is made available online for a charge. Many good quality information sources, such as scholarly journal articles, are only available online for a fee. The UNM University Libraries pays for subscriptions to these journals so that you can access them without charge.

The Web is good for:
News, including very recent newspaper articles
Information about government agencies, organizations, and other groups
Facts (but be sure to evaluate their validity)
Educational materials (class pages for colleges & schools, lesson plans for teachers)
Travel and culture
Business information
Opinions
Personal pages
Maps

The Web is NOT good for:
Journal articles (search for articles using an online database - Show Me)
Books in full text (you can get some through NetLibrary, but most books are still only in print format).
Older newspaper articles

You can sometimes find:
Government documents (also check the LIBROS Online Catalog)


Essential Search Tools: Gold Rush		Finding a ....

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