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