Links for Research - Other resources - ipl A+ Research & Writing

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Links for Research—Other resources

Note: the links below take you further down on this page.

Library tutorials
Web and internet tutorials
Interpretation and evaluation of information

Library tutorials

UW-Parkside Information Literacy Tutorial (U Wisconsin-Parkside): http://www.uwp.edu/departments/library/infolit/intro/; Another comprehensive online tutorial introducing various aspects of library research. Some of the lessons are specific to UW-Parkside’s library, but a great deal of the information is applicable to many academic libraries and their catalog systems. Units are provided on Using the Library Catalog, Evaluating Periodicals, Using Periodical Indexes, Citing Sources, Exploring the Internet and Using Reference Sources and contain detailed instructions and exercises. Ignore the instructions to use an “answer booklet” and just use the lessons as written. Login as “guest” with password “guest.”
Library Research: A Hypertext Guide (Cornell U): http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/tutorial.html; How to find, evaluate, and cite different types of library resources. This site also includes a handy list of definitions for library-related terms.

Principles of Web Searching (Cornell U): http://vivo.cornell.edu/display/individual4892; Very comprehensive introduction to how the Web is constructed and how the search tools work. Sections on Robot-Assembled Databases, Human-Assembled Databases, Subject-Based Databases, Multiple Search Engine Interfaces and more. Links to the search engines described in the article, along with their strengths and weaknesses.
How to be a Web Hound (Maricopa CC): http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/webhound/index.html; A fun tutorial to get you started with Web surfing and searching. Sections on: Scouting the Range, Scoping the Search, Using Your Tools, Starting Points, and Searching with Engines. Handy worksheets accompany each section—for you to print out and use to help structure your search.
How to Search the Internet (U Oregon): http://www.sou.edu/library/searchtools/howto.html; A ranked list of sites covering the basics of seeking and evaluating information from the web.
The Spider’s Apprentice: http://www.monash.com/spidap.html; A service from Monash Information Services, this site has Search Engine FAQ, How to Plan the Best Search Strategy, How Search Engines Work, and analyzes and rates the major search engines in different categories. Also provides a Web Search Wizard page from which you can conduct your search.


How to evaluate the sources you find (Cornell U): http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/evaluate.html; Articles on how to critically analyze information sources and distinguishing scholarly from non-scholarly periodicals.
Evaluating Quality on the Net: by Hope N. Tillman, Director of Libraries, Babson College, Babson Park, MA. Aimed primarily at librarians but useful for other users of internet resources, Ms. Tillman discusses some of the issues involved in evaluating the quality of information on the internet as compared with published reference materials.
Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources: by Esther Grassian, UCLA College Library; http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/11605_12337.cfm; Checklist of questions to ask yourself about resources you’ve found on the Web.

A+ Research & Writing for high school and college students was created by Kathryn L. Schwartz