Although the Internet is a vast source of information and seems like it is the easiest and fastest way to go, it should never be your only source, because anyone can pose as an "expert" and put out misleading and even false information. The Web is not organized, reviewed or filtered and most academic books and articles are copyrighted and thus, not freely available online.
Library resources have been through several layers of review, including the publishing process and peer review of academic journal articles AND are not freely available on the Web. They are purchased from University budgets for students, staff and faculty use. ALL sources should still be evaluated using the CRAAP Test. Publication alone does not guarantee accuracy or authority or a scholarly purpose of furthering knowledge.
This YouTube video from Suffolk Community College explains how to use several features on the Advanced Search screen to get more precise results from your Google searches. To find the Advanced Search screen, look for Settings under the search box after doing an initial search or search Advanced in Google.
The Google Advanced Search screen resembles many of the Library database search screens since they are all based on Boolean operators, (AND, OR, NOT) and have additional filters (such as date ranges, types of documents, language, etc. The site or domain filter allows you to search only .edu (education domains) or .gov (government domains) or .org (organization domains).
Internet Research: What's Credible?
This 29 minute online video, from Films on Demands explains the importance of evaluating Internet information. Requires UH user name and password.
