Web research tutorial

Other Online Resources

While the internet offers a large variety of search engines to find websites, it also supplies a large number of searchable databases.  These databases lead to what those of us in academia consider to be "normal" sources.  Generally, these databases are attached to university libraries (it might be useful to nate that much of the backbone of the internet is made up of university servers).  These databases are frequently only accessible to the faculty and student body of that university.  In terms of such  databases availibility at NIU, these are all located through Research Tools at Founders library's website:

http://libws66.lib.niu.edu/reschtols.html

These electronic resources are typically online versions of standard hardcopy indexes and reference works with relatively intuitive interfaces.  Simply type in search terms in these databases and select from the menu what kind of search you would like to do, as the following Online MLA Bibliography shows:
 
 
 
 

It is notable that NIU's databases are searchable for off campus users too by clicking on the Research Tools for Off-Campus Users link located at the top of the electronic resources page.

http://libws66.lib.niu.edu/resrchoff.html

Also, at our library is a telnet-based terminal that provides a recognizable version of Illinet Online, the standard card catalog system for NIU.  This terminal requires a telnet application to use, which all Winows '95/'98 machines have as part of the normal software that is part of these operating systems.  This terminal is located at:

http://libws66.lib.niu.edu/

Or you can reach this terminal directly through this link:

telnet://pac.ilcso.uiuc.edu

Much of what you can do physically in the library can be done electronically, so please look around this page it is an excellent resource.

Before moving on to the subject of how to effectively evaluate websites, it is also useful to note some websites that are essentially directories specific to our field that are useful as resources on the web.

Voice of the Shuttle--This metalist is perhaps the most comprehensive directory of humanities related websites, listservs, and newsgroups.  The site is similar to Yahoo or other directories in that it has linked subdirectories allowing you to narrow your search.  It also provides a Search option.  This site is an invaluable resource.

The English Server at Carnegie Mellon University--Another excellent list of humanities-based links.  The site also offers several interesting journals on pop culture and Marxist theory.

Texts & Contexts--A useful but limited site of electronic texts of influential philosophers, theologians, and literary figures.  These texts are, of course, not overviews of biographical information but electronic versions of the works of important figures to English and the humanities.

Yahoo's List of Electronic Literature--Yahoo has a lengthy collection of electronic text archives that include e-text archives that focus on particular genres, movements, and periods in literature.  Notable among these archives are some of the more general e-text archives that attempt to amass enormous amounts of texts.  Such archives include the Gutenburg Project or its mirror site, the Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia, the Internet Public Library Catalog (which which is browsable and searchable by author, title, and Dewey Decimal Classification), and the Oxford Text Archive.
 

 

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