Background Information?
A Web search might find exactly what you want, but how will you determine if the information is accurate, unbiased, current, and complete? 

Web resources such as Wikipedia may be a good starting point for some research, but you will need to verify the information in reputable resources such as articles from established subject-area encyclopedias (like Encyclopedia of the Life Sciences) or authoritative magazines (like Newsweek) or journals (like The New England Journal of Medicine.)  Similarly, you will need to verify the credibility of information you find in a commercial website, an organization's webpage, a blog, or a personal website.

Although all information must be evaluated, the library's online resources are produced by established, authoritative publishers who work diligently to assure the reliability, accuracy, and objectivity of the information that they provide. 

Articles on the Web?
Professors often require students to find authoritative information from magazine, journal, or newspaper articles.  Although some articles are available on the Internet, many of the best web sites either require a subscription or make users pay for individual articles. 

The library provides online articles via research databases.  The library pays the subscription fees, and students get the articles for free. 

Many more online articles from trusted periodicals are available via the library's research databases than are available via a Google, Google Scholar or Yahoo! search.  Clark Memorial Library offers free online articles from more than 25,000 periodicals. 

Books and Other Documents?
Many contemporary government documents, reports from not-for-profit institutions, and some books that have gone out-of-copyright (published prior to 1923) are available online via a web search.  Google Books and Amazon allow users to see excerpts of full-text book content.  The complete contents of current books, proprietary business information, and professional or scholarly resources are not, however, usually accessible for free -- except via the library's catalog and Electronic Book Center.

Library catalogs provide access to government documents and reports -- and to contemporary e-books.  The Electronic Book Center  provides access to the full text of thousands of online books.  Additionally, research databases often provide specialized information of interest to students and researchers: for example, business databases provide industry profiles, market research reports, proprietary company data, etc., while medical databases provide evidence-based care sheets, research instruments, CEU practice information, and other resources of use to health care professionals.  Of course, you can often get this information via a Google search -- if you are willing to pay for it!

Get help via IM, Chat With a Librarian, email (Reference_Services@Shawnee.edu), or by phoning (740.351.3321).  

If you prefer face-to-face assistance, stop by the Clark Memorial Library Reference Counter or schedule a Research Consultation with a Reference Librarian.