Researching Online For Dummies® - Softcover

Basch, Reva

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0764503820 ISBN 13: 9780764503825

Publisher: For Dummies, 1998

Synopsis

"Cheat Sheet" with Research Tips and Shortcuts Inside!

Find Out How to Use the Web Effectively for All Kinds of Research Projects! Ever been caught in a maze of irrelevant Web links that draw you further and further away from the topic you were trying to research? Researching Online For Dummies® shows you how to stay focused, find just what you need on the Net, and apply that information to the project you're working on. Valuable Bonus CD Includes:

• Microsoft's popular Web browser
• Netscape's powerful Web browser
• Northern Light: Excerpts of help files from this useful search engine
• Acrobat Reader: For viewing and printing PDF files

Shareware programs are fully functional, free trial versions of copyrighted programs. If you like particular programs, register with their authors for a nominal fee and receive licenses, enhanced versions, and technical support. Freeware programs are free, copyrighted games, applications, and utilities. You can copy them to as many PCs as you like — free — but they have no technical support. System Requirements: 486 or faster PC with Windows 3.1 or later, or a Mac OS computer with OS 7.5 or later; at least 16MB of RAM; CD-ROM drive (2x or faster); and an Internet connection (14,400 BPS or faster modem or network — regular access charges apply)

Inside, find helpful advice on how to:

• Choose the best search engine for your research project
• Use search tools specialized for your area of interest
• Link up with a virtual guru for guidance on your quest
• Get just what you need from online libraries, archives, and gated information services
• Tackle governmental cyber-bureaucracy like a special agent
• Make the most of the business and investing data on the Web
• Verify your information, deal with copyright issues, and cite online resources properly

About this title

Review

Although this Dummies book is in the typical informal and irreverent beginner's style, even the most competent searcher will find it invaluable. Author Reva Basch has written the gold standard for books about online research. Wired magazine calls her "the ultimate intelligent agent" for a very good reason. Basch doesn't just give you information on search engines and how to use them. She takes you into the mindset of a professional Net cybrarian, sharing the essential truth about online research. (There is a huge difference between surfing and searching.) In chapters such as "Thinking and Working Like a Researcher," you learn what to do when presented with 42,178 hits--or worse, no hits at all--when using a search engine. Even when you hit pay dirt, Basch explains the importance of evaluating the information you find to make sure it's relevant and accurate.

Basch covers specialty search engines, subject-based catalogs, reference sites, online libraries, and for-pay information services. She takes you to the places where the experts hang out in newsgroups, mailing lists, and online conferencing systems. One especially helpful chapter deals with the mysteries of researching government, medical, and sci-tech information online. The discussion then moves to business-related research, online publications, and many other resources. Then she reveals that sometimes you have to go offline to get what you need and includes helpful print sources.

This terrific volume concludes with the famous Dummies "Part of Tens," including Ten Timeless Truths about Search Engines and Ten Clarifying Questions for Better Research Results. The accompanying CD-ROM has three bonus chapters: "Life Choices," about using the Net to find information on finding a college, a car, a job, and other necessities; "Recreational Interests: Hobbies, Interests, and Leisure-Time Pursuits"; and "Ten Simple Tune-ups for Streamlined Searching." A bonus section on Boolean searches contains one of the better discussions of that misunderstood subject. --Elizabeth Lewis

From the Publisher

For beginners, intermediate and experienced computer users new to a topic who want to get in and "do" with the help of a clear, convenient reference.

Edition details

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0764503820
• ISBN 13: 9780764503825
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384