Using the Internet for Research

Some people often mistake licensed electronic resources for Internet pages.  This is a common misconception that may lead users to dismiss valuable resources. 

Lovejoy Library subscribes to a number of valid and authoritative resources that are delivered electronically through the Internet.  For example, an article in an electronic index such as Historical Abstracts also exists in a journal in print.  The full-text version of the article is delivered via the Internet to facilitate research. 

If you are in doubt about your results or restrictions regarding using Internet resources for an assignment, ask for clarification from your professor.

The Internet has many strengths:
• to obtain information on colleges, museums, non-profit organizations, or companies
• for very current information such as news, sports scores, weather, and stock quotes
• to research a well-known event or individual
• to use online job postings, shopping, auctions, or travel services
• for opinions on a topic

Library indexes/databases may be better places to look than the Internet:
• to find articles in scholarly journals
• to find articles published in popular magazines
• to search databases that index articles in many academic disciplines
• to find books on your topic
• to locate the full text of articles or books that are copyrighted