Return to Research strategy: a tutorial
There are a number of ways to search the web to find Internet resources. A good starting place for your web research is the Library Gateway.
The Cornell University Library Gateway is the entrance to the Library's web presence. It provides information about the Library and access to many web and other online resources, including the online catalog, subject guides, periodical databases, electronic journals, statistical data files, online encyclopedias, and other reference sources.
Find it! is a library tool that has several functions and is a great place to start your research.
It allows you to search for journal article citations or images in multiple databases simultaneously. In many cases, the Find it! results will provide links directly to the online images or full text of the articles themselves.
Find it! also allows you to browse for databases by subject, or search for databases by name. It is important to note that not all of the databases that Cornell subscribes to are listed in Find it! and the Library Catalog is the most complete record of library resources.
Because of licensing restrictions, access to most databases listed in Find it! is limited to currently registered Cornell students, faculty, and staff. See the Find it! Quick Guide and FAQ for more information on Find it!.
When navigating the Library Gateway, keep in mind that help is just a click away. At the bottom of most Gateway pages, you will find links to online forms that allow you to ask a question, report a technical problem, or make a comment or suggestion to help us improve the Gateway.
Another valuable place for finding web resources is the list of individual CU Library web pages.
The vast collections of the Cornell University Library are housed in 20 unit libraries. Many of these libraries are focused on specific or specialized subject areas. There are entire libraries for mathematics, music, and fine arts, for instance. Each of these libraries has a web site that offers detailed descriptions of their collections and resources (including non-Web materials), contact information, and links to e-mail and subject specific web resources selected by library staff.
Go to Individual Cornell Libraries and Collections to connect to the list of libraries, divisions, and collections.
Surfing the Internet for information is best done with the help of a search engine or subject directory.
WWW search engines are used to perform keyword searches in large databases of information culled from the Internet. While no single search engine covers the entire Internet, there are a variety of tools that will assist you in searching for information on the web.
Go to WWW and Search Engines for information on the types of search engines, how they work, and what their limitations are.
Additional information can be found at the following links:
While you need to evaluate the quality of any work before you use it in your research, it is particularly important to analyze and assess the information resources that you find on the Internet.
Go to the next research step, Evaluating the sources
that you find
Return to Research strategy: a tutorial