The web offers researchers many tools for finding the information they want. Here we'll discuss the pros and cons of those tools and better ways to use them. We might also introduce you to some useful sites you haven't yet discovered.
Google, the go-to search engine for most people, has advanced search features that can be very useful to researchers and casual users alike.
Getting the most out of Google
Google Scholar allows you to limit your search results to include only “scholarly literature,” including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports.
Tips for using Google Scholar, including UGA access to full-text
Google Books enables users to search the full-text of millions of books. Not all books are available online in their entirety. However, once you have identified a book, you can check to see if the UGA Libraries own it or if you can find it at another library.
Information about, and tips for using, Google Book Search
Google Maps
View maps and get directions, including point-to-point and multiple destination trips.
Google Earth
Google Earth combines the power of Google Search with satellite imagery, maps, terrain and 3D buildings. System requirements and download options.
Discussion of wikipedia as a scholarly resource
The Wikipedia, a community-authored and edited version of an encyclopedia can be a useful tool in everyday life, but has certain serious drawbacks and is best avoided in the research of academic papers.
Via GALILEO (GALILEO password required for off-campus access)
The classic reference work, available in its entirety.
The New Georgia Encyclopedia provides an authoritative source of information about people, places, events, institutions, and many other topics relating to the state.
“Blog”, short for weblog, is an online journal or newsletter that is updated frequently. Blogs cover a wide range of topics including social issues, opinions, politics, gossip, sports, entertainment, and alternative news. Institutions are increasingly using blogs to provide news about themselves. (See the UGA Libraries News & Events blog.)
Technorati - Searches weblogs by keyword and for links. Also provides news from general news services and blogs.
Google Blog Search - Read more about Google Blog Search
(Really Simple Syndication)
RSS is a format for distributing news headlines and other content on the Web. RSS allows Internet users to subscribe to their favorite Web sites and receive new content via "feeds." By then using a feed reader you will be able to view all new content in one place.
About RSS feeds and feed readers/aggregators
del.icio.us - del.icio.us is a social bookmarking website. The primary use of del.icio.us is to store your bookmarks online so that you can, from any computer, access them and add new ones. On del.icio.us, you can use tags to organize and remember your bookmarks, which is a much more flexible system than folders. More about del.icio.us . . .
CiteULike - CiteULike is a free service to help academics to share, store, and organise the academic papers they are reading. When you see a paper on the web that interests you, you can click one button and have it added to your personal library. CiteULike automatically extracts the citation details, so there's no need to type them in yourself. It all works from within your web browser. There's no need to install any special software. More about CiteULike . . .
Within some of our article databases, there are services that will alert you when new articles, matching your established criteria, have been added to the database.
EBSCOHost "My EBSCOHost" - Set up search alerts and journal alerts - then be notified by email or RSS feed.
CSA "personal profile"- e-mail alerts for searches and journal issues
ISI Web of Knowledge "my account/alerts" - e-mail based alert service for Web of Science
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