Using the Library Effectively
For Writing 102
Researched Arguments
Why Use the Internet?
Fast searches
Variety of viewpoints
Quick retrieval
Why to Worry about Internet Sources
Lack of editorial control or quality assurance
Lack of permanence
Bias and hidden biases
Why Use the Library?
Focused, subject-related searching
Retrieval
Reliability
Drawbacks to Using the Library
Library may not hold the material; it may be necessary to order material on Interlibrary Loan
Time required for turnaround: it takes time to get books in print, articles in indexes, texts on the web, etc.
Effective WRIT 102 Search Strategy
Figure out what descriptors get you good information on your topic
Anticipate and account for biases in the information you find
Compensate by looking for material that represents multiple viewpoints on an issue
Key: Record the relevant information for retrieval and documentation
Practice topic: slavery reparations
Look this up in a regular search engine like "Yahoo!" or MSN
Look it up in a regular search engine but put the phrase in quotation marks
Look it up in a metasearch engine like allthesites.com or google.com
Look it up in altavista.com putting the search term in quotation marks
Practice topic (continued)
Look it up in the Dacus online catalog using a subject search
Look it up in the Dacus online catalog using Words in Title
Look it up in InfoTrac using the two words together as a keyword
Look it up in InfoTrac using the two words as separate keywords
So What Do We Conclude?
Searching on the Internet yields many sites but the searcher has to be very aware of unreliability, bias, and impermanence
Internet searching should only be used as a supplement to library searching
Searching in the library yields more reliable information but the searcher may need more time to retrieve the information
Understand how to supplement library information with Internet information