TIPS

Searching | Evaluation | Ethical Use | Glossary of Terms

LOCATING resources on the Web

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Tip #1 Don't waste time searching the Internet for things that aren't there

What you are likely to find on the Internet:
Complete text of Moby Dick, Scripts to Shakespeare's plays

What you most likely won't find on the Internet:
Complete text of Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings (if you try to find one, beware of links to www.readfreeonline.net -- that site is programmed to download a virus to your computer)

If you are searching for information that can only be found in a book (or other copyrighted materials) published in the past 50 to 75 years, chances are you won't find it on the Internet. You might find the title and description. You might even find an excerpt. But you're not likely to find the full content.

Many publishers of these materials advertise their products on-line. They make it easy to purchase them on-line. But they seldom make the full content of the materials available on-line. You're much more likely to find what you're looking for in a library or bookstore (either locally or on-line).

If the book, pictures or music is more than 75 years old (and the copyright has not been renewed), there is a better chance that you will find it on the web. The more famous the item, the more likely you are to find it. Classics of literature, for example, are increasingly available on the web.

Online Learning Module: Traditional Sources