Do you need an Internet Web site as a source?   The Internet is an excellent source for information related to government affairs, geography, business, computers, engineering, literature, the arts, recreation, biography, travel, popular culture, and entertainment news.

Finding Internet sources @The Libraries can be done by following these steps:

1)  Determine the keywords associated with your topic.  For  help in formulating keywords, click here.  If you need additional assistance in  narrowing your topic or finding keywords, ask a librarian. Click here!

2) Choose a search engine.  Different search engines produce different results.  A mediated or directory search engine searches for information in broad, hierarchical subject headings and then searches within those for more specific topics.  Ask Jeeves, Lycos, and Yahoo! are examples of mediated search engines.

A keyword search engine searches for keywords that appear in meta tags.  These search engines gather more information than mediated search engines; therefore, it is more likely you will retrieve information that is both relevant and not relevant to your search.  Google, AltaVista, and Excite are examples of keyword search engines.

A meta- or multi-search engine searches other search engines.  You can search several search engines in one keyword search; however, it is not considered to be as effective as some keyword search engines.  Dogpile and Profusion are examples of meta-search engines.  If you need help choosing an appropriate search engine, ask a librarian! Click here!

3) If you are not familiar with Boolean operators, click here for the glossary.  Boolean operators are used in some search engines and will be helpful in performing your search.

To ask a librarian about Internet sources, you can:

stop by the Reference Desk in the University Library, call 742-2236
or (toll free) 1-888-270-3369, or email/chat via Ask a Librarianonline service.

TTU Libraries are not responsible for the content of external sources. For questions about this page, contact Jon Hufford, Coordinator for Information Literacy. [v] (806) 742-2238 X277 [f] (806) 742-1964 [e]

This page last modified on 17 Oct 2006, 13:56.