Casting Your Net: A Student's Guide to Research on the Internet

A comprehensive guide to conducting academic research on the Internet, this book has been designed as a supplement to standard first-year handbooks or research paper tests. It assumes some familiarity with standard research procedures, but assumes little experience with the Internet. All the major researchable modes of the Internet and their respective search engines are covered, from the early technologies FTP, WAIS, and gopher, to Usenet and the World Wide Web. Also included are sections on the listservs and E-mail. Each chapter is followed by a set of exercises. The book analyzes the Internet as a source of information, with a guide to what is available and what is not. It compares the major search engines used for Internet research, with explanations of the strengths and weaknesses of each, and a listing of their respective features. It also contains a complete guide to documenting Internet sources in both MLA and APA styles.

This is the first comprehensive guide to conducting academic research on the Internet. The book assumes a certain familiarity with standard research procedures (library and notetaking skills, for example) and a general computer literacy, but assumes little experience with the Internet. All the major researchable modes of the Internet and their respective search engines are covered, from the early technologies FTP, WAIS, and gopher, which still have usefulness today; to the current favorites Usenet and the World Wide Web. Also included are sections on the listservs and E-mail. All discussions are machine and interface independent, applying to Windows, Macintosh, and text-based computers.