Finding Internet Resources

Human Resources home > Finding Internet Resources

• Selected Sites from Webster University Library
• Using Internet Directories (i.e. Yahoo!)
• Using Search Engines (i.e. Google)
• Evaluating Internet Information

Selected Sites from Webster University Library

The reference librarians at Webster University Library, create and maintain subject guides of selected Web sites. These are not intended to be exhaustive lists, but rather starting points and "gateways" to World Wide Web resources. The following guides may be of use for human resources research:

• Behavioral & Social Sciences Resources
• Government Information
• Human Resources
• Management Resources
• Web Sites and Search Engines

Using Internet Directories (e.g. Yahoo!)

• Popular directories include Yahoo!, InfoMine, and The Scout Archives.
• Directories are helpful when you are searching in an unfamiliar subject area and want to know the kinds of Internet sites available. They give you the "big picture" of the types of resources you can find on the Internet.
• Choose a directory when you are looking for a few good, relevant sites rather than "everything" on the Internet that happens to mention a certain keyword.
• You can often limit your search in a directory to resources in a certain area, such as counseling. For example, let's say you want information on industrial quality issues. By limiting your search to business, you don't have to sort through items in a different area, such as "quality of life" in medicine or "air quality" in environment.

Using Search Engines (e.g. Google)

• Popular search engines include: Google, Yahoo, and Ask.com.
• Most search engines index every word of an Internet document. This is helpful when you are searching for a unique or obscure expression and didn't find what you wanted in a directory.
• Search engines will usually provide a large number of sites. Be prepared to add more search words to focus your search.
• Search engines are often more "up-to-date" as it may take longer for a site to be added to a directory.

Bottom line: The Web is huge! Each search engine and directory finds only a percentage of all the Web sites available. Some Web sites will never be found by search engines or directories.

Additional helpful tutorials:

• list of some directories and search engines
• Should you trust what you find on the Internet