An Introduction to Research Processes

Back to Finding Sources on the Internet

The Internet — a network of computers connected by telephone lines, high speed fiber-optic networks, microwave relays, and satellite links — was developed by the United States government to maintain communication across the nation in the case of a national emergency, such as a nuclear war or widespread natural disasters. For many years, its primary users were government officials, scientists in colleges and universities, and the military. Over the past decade, however, the Internet has become an increasingly important part of daily life. Today, people use the Internet to send electronic mail to relatives, friends, and coworkers, to learn about and purchase goods and services, to keep up with the latest news in a variety of fields, and to participate in online communities that cross state and national boundaries.

The Internet contains a startling amount of information — startling not only because of the amount that is available, but also because that amount is growing so rapidly. The number of sites on the World Wide Web alone is growing at a phenomenal rate, with most sites containing dozens, hundreds, thousands, and in some rare cases hundreds of thousands of pages of information. And the World Wide Web is only part of the Internet. You can find information in tens of thousands of newsgroups and mailing lists. You can search for information using Gopher, an information distribution system that predates the World Wide Web. And you can use the Internet to interact with other people via electronic mail and real-time discussions.

Unfortunately, because of the shear bulk of information on the Internet, searching for material that is relevant to your topic can be both too easy and too difficult. Searches of the Yahoo World Wide Web search site for the keywords "zel" and "miffle," for instance, produced four and nine items, respectively. It would seem that you can find almost anything you want on the Internet, even when you're using nonsense words. On the other hand, finding information that is actually useful can be a time-consuming process, just as it is in library and field research. And just as in those two forms of research, it helps a great deal if you understand a few basic principles.

Users of the Internet should be aware that most information on it is not subject to the careful review that is typical of most information available through your library. That said, you can still find a great deal of useful information on the Internet. The key issues are knowing where and how to look for information, and how to evaluate it once you've found it.

To view other Writing Center units about information on the Internet, click on the items below:

• Using the World Wide Web
• Using Other Internet Resources
• Evaluating Sources
• Citing Sources