From the course: Information Literacy

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The web vs. databases

The web vs. databases

From the course: Information Literacy

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The web vs. databases

- As you probably already know, the World Wide Web hosts a staggering amount of information. With the help of a search engine and a few keywords, you can find a great deal. A lot of what you find on the free internet will be useful to you, and can be a great place to start. So why use your databases? We talked about this in our last chapter, what you find on a search engine is not all there is. It's only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Your library subscribes to databases. Silos of information not available on the free web. Usually, you are able to unlock their potential with the barcode of your library card. But inquire at your university or public library if you have questions about access. So, you have the Web and you have Databases. What's your incentive to use them both, and what is the difference between what you will find there? The Web will generate millions of results, or hits, when given a search term, and a Database will likely give you less. Is that a bad thing? Well…

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