The Web

Research Tips

• For research purposes, the Web consists of the "free Web" that are accessible to anyone; and Web resourcesthat are purchased and provided just to Carnegie Mellon University students by the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries.

• Web resources Carnegie Mellon University Libraries -- including many article databases -- are carefully chosen to support academic work. Use these resources to locate books, articles, and other resources that you cannot access through the "free web." Start on the University Libraries home page to search Web resources provided by the University Libraries.

• The "free Web" is a great place to look for factual and introductory information and for some types of images. But it only consists of information that people are willing to give away for free. Only about 6% of the "free Web" is academic in nature. Most of the rest is commerical or personal.

• Sites on the "free Web" vary greatly in quality and must be critically evaluated. While books and journals are usually reviewed for substance and accuracy before they are published, anyone can create a Web site that says anything at all. Evaluate each site and choose the best ones for your work. For more on this topic see the Web Evaluation tutorial.

• For instance, Wikipedia is a very popular Web-based tool, with lots of information. But bear in mind that it is written by volunteers rather than by established scholars. And, while an encyclopedia may be useful for some research purposes, university-level work requires additional more sophisticated sources.
  

• Use search engines to search the "free Web." Each search engine has strengths and weaknesses and will produce different results. None effectively searches the entire Web. Try using more than one search engine for your searches. And if you use Google, try Google: Advanced Search and Google Image Search.

• Try using Google Scholar to identify scholarly content on the "free Web." Google Scholar often provides an exerpt of content that is not available for free.

• Or let someone else search the "free Web" for you. Consult an online directory of Web sites for architecture and related fields, such as Architecture and Building (University of Nevada, Las Vegas).