The Library vs. Google
Google is a tremendous source of information BUT should not be the ONLY place
to do research. Some of the information you find on google is
authorative and accurate but some of it is not. Often, it is hard for
students to determine whether the site or article they found was
written by a scholar in the field or a 5th grader. The library buys
many databases that cover a multitude of subject areas. Within many of
these databases, there are journal articles, and reports that are
researched and written by scholars.
Help with websites
- Not sure if the site you found is authoritative and reliable?
- Try looking at the Potter Library's suggested subject resources web links. These resources have been reviewed by librarians and are considered authoritative.
- If you must venture onto Google, remember you need to
- look for who wrote the page and figure out what the purpose of the document is
- understand who wrote the page and if they have authority on the subject
- look how the information is presented
- how current the information is (if necessary)
- Need more help? Try reviewing the Evaluating the Internet tutorial created by the library or the Evaluating Web Sources checklist .
Suggested websites:
- Wall Street Journal
- New York Times
- You Tube: huge video source
- HULU: another video source with loads of television shows and movies
- Internet and Democracy Project: The Internet and Democracy Project is an initiative
that will examine how the Internet influences democratic norms and
modes, including its impact on civil society, citizen media, government
transparency, and the rule of law, with a focus on the Middle East.
- George T. Potter government sites page
- Obama Speeches: Collection of speeches deemed important by the site's creator(s). Full transcripts available. Arranged in descending order from most recent.
- Google Video: another source of videos
- NPR
- BBC
- American Memory:
Searches American primary sources, including early Congressional
documents, the Declaration of Independence, The Federalist Papers, the
Constitution, etc. Also offers documents, maps, motion pictures, photos
& prints and sound recordings.
- Google Scholar: Google Scholar
provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From
one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources:
peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from
academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories,
universities and other scholarly organizations. Google Scholar helps
you identify the most relevant research across the world of scholarly
research. Check out Advanced Search Tips for help.
- Google Books: Book
Search works just like web search. Try a search on Google Book Search
or on Google.com. When we find a book with content that contains a
match for your search terms, we'll link to it in your search results.
If you limit to "Advanced Search," you can can set the results to Full view only and you will be able to download the book.
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