The World Wide Web (WWW) as a Research Tool

This page is intended to help you conduct your research effectively on the World Wide Web (WWW). The advent of the Web and technological advances have dramatically changed the ways that we do research. The World Wide Web is a powerful medium of information. It offers endless possibilities and with that comes new challenges. Web sites are often chaotic and disorganized, even though general directories and subject directories try to categorize the content. It would be impossible to catalog the Web like a library online catalog. The problem is not too little information but too much. 

About the Internet and the World Wide Web:

• What is the Internet, the WWW, and Netscape? An Introduction to WWW This guide from University of California, Berkeley discusses the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web in a simple format.
• Principles of Web Searching This guide from the Cornell University Library has a workshop outline format. It includes lessons on: 1. What is the Internet 2. What is the World Wide Web 3. Using Your Browser 4. Browsing the Web 5. Understanding URLs    6. Searching the Web 7. Internet Quiz
• Anatomy of a Web Browser 

Information Needed

There are different Types of Information. Define your Information Need - Do you need to use the Web or will database searching be more useful for your topic? 

How is the World Wide Web different from the bibliographic databases? Sometimes you may need to use the Web for current news, online shopping, career opportunities, chat rooms and discussion groups, etc. For your research paper, NSU Libraries offer you wide array of databases, some of which have selected full-text articles. Journal articles in the databases have gone through quality control and hence considered more authoritative resources. On the other hand, materials available on the Web are not necessarily filtered. Following is a table that contains some major differences between the the World Wide Web (WWW) and the commercial databases. Some examples of commercial/bibliographic databases are ProQuest, Wilson Web, ERIC, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, etc. For additional information including tutorials on specific databases, search strategy, and selecting a database, go to our Database help page; then follow the specific links on each topic. 

WWW			Databases
Advantages	Disadvantages		Advantages	Disadvantages
currency, specialized, time-sensitive information	content can be outdated, no standardization regarding date		some databases updated weekly	updated periodically; some lag time between publication of the article and entry into the database
	often inaccurate, misleading information, credibility can't be assumed, therefore no quality control		reliable, filtered information	limited in scope
browsability as in subject directories, flexibility	chaotic, unorganized, volatile, lack of indexing and controlled vocabulary		sophisticated indexing and field searching	limited browsability
unique terms keywords	Search features may not be very obvious. Some search engines do not support all Boolean or proximity operators		advanced search features, Boolean and proximity operators

Search Engines, Directories and Meta Search Engines

Directories are links that are organized in subject specific categories and sub-categories. They are good for general starting points as you can browse through hierarchical lists created and reviewed by people. Some examples: Librarians' Internet Index, Internet Public Library, Britannica Internet Guide, INFOMINE, Yahoo

Meta Search Engines search several search engines simultaneously. There are some limitations using meta search engines. Usually advanced search features of individual search engines are not possible. Different meta search engines search different sets of search engines. Some examples: IxQuick, Query Server, Dogpile, Vivisimo, SurfWax, etc.

For more information on Search Engines and Directories see our Internet Search Engines page.

For additional information:

• Search Engine Showdown- excellent site by Greg Notess, Reference Librarian, Bozeman Library, Montana State University. Site contains reviews, comparisons, chart, statistics and more.
• Search Engine Watch- updated reviews, chart, searching tips, Search Links include sections on specialty search engines kids search engines, news search engines etc.
• Choose the best search for your information need- from Nueva Library, California

Evaluating Content

The World Wide Web (WWW) contains many sites that offer quality information to researchers at no cost. Many sites that appear on the WWW have not been checked for accuracy. It is very important to distinguish the wheat from the chaff. Due to this lack of editorial control, you need to exert caution when looking for quality information on the Internet. Reliability and Validity of the Web sites must be checked. Unfortunately, the WWW also leads researchers to many sites that have misleading, inaccurate, and outdated information.

See Evaluating Web Sites for a quick lesson on some criteria you can use to critically examine a webpage or website. Or try this tutorial on Evaluating Web Resources which provides real-life examples.

Citation Guides 

For detailed information on how to cite web sites, see: Citations and Style Guides.