Information Sources: Choosing and Finding the Right Source

Why not just use Google?

• Google presents results based on popularity, not quality or reliability.
• Google results include sponsored links which are results paid for by advertisers.
• Results need to be evaluated carefully for credibility.  Anyone can create a web page.
• You can only access free information via Google.  There is much more information available behind a paywall, that is not free.  Library databases are behind a paywall.

Google does have a place in academic research.  It is used to find government documents, statistics, and all sorts of other information.  Librarians can show you lots of Google tips and tricks -- just ask!  While Google is very powerful, keep in mind that it is not the only tool to use when doing academic research.

What is a library database?

• An electronic collection of information. 
• Mostly articles, but also ebooks, streaming video, images, and more.
• Organized to allow people to get information by searching in various ways.
• Purchased by the library.  Most of the information is not accessible for free on the internet.

Why use a Library Database?

• Information has been tagged with all sorts of data.  This allows you to search by author, title, publication date, topic, peer-reviewed, and more.
• Information has been evaluated.  Evaluation ranges from basic editorial evaluation (like for a magazine) to peer-review (like for a scholarly journal).
• Citation information is easily available. 

From Purdue Database vs. Google [Video], by the Purdue University Libraries, 2011, YouTube (https://youtu.be/XuOURskjrQI).

From What's the Deep Web? And Why the Library? [Video], by the John M. Pfau Library, 2015, YouTube (https://youtu.be/Fyln1cBJmdE).