Internet Research

1020 Words3 Pages

With the advancement of technology and the exponential increase of Internet use, professionals-academic and business-are relying on electronic resources for information, research, and data. The Internet gives an individual access to a sea of information, data, and knowledge; plus, this vast amount of information is available in a matter of seconds, rather than hours or days. The ease of access, availability, up-to-the-second timeliness, and vastness of online resources is causing many professionals, however, to forgo the use of print sources. Online resources are useful to conduct scholarly research and 'may be convenient, but they have shortcomings that make print sources necessary for submitting high-quality assignments' (Dilevko & Gottieb, 2002, ¶ 1).

Advantages of Online Resources

The Center for the Digital Future’s 2005 report found that 'among users 17 and older, 56.3 percent consider the Internet to be a very important or extremely important source of information for them' (p. 4). Online resource capabilities save an individual time as well as provide ease of access and availability to a broad scope of materials. Print books and journals, though they provide in–depth information on a particular subject, are not easily accessible and available at any particular moment. In order to access many books, an individual must either visit the local library or contain the book in his or her own private collection, which could be costly. Online resources can be accessed anytime at anyplace. “Overall, there is expanded access to information in a variety of formats from worldwide institutions, businesses, and universities" (Darrow & MacDonald, 2004, p. 22). Access to “worldwide” information puts a broad range of information in the h...

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...l future report. University of Southern California Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future. Retrieved July 18, 2006, from http://www.digitalcenter.org/pdf/Center-for-the-Digital-Future-2005-Highlights.pdf

Darrow, R., & MacDonald, C. (2004). What Is information literacy in the digital age? CSLA Journal, 27(2), 21-23. Retrieved July 18, 2006 from the Academic Search Premier database. (AN: 13086929).

Dilevko, J., & Gottlieb, L. (2002, November). Print sources in an electronic age: A vital part of the research process for undergraduate students. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 28(6), 381. Retrieved July 18, 2006, from the Academic Search Premier database. (AN: 8735647).

Webster P. (2003, September/October). Expanded library electronic reference collections. Online,27(5), 24-27. Retrieved July 18, 2006 from the Academic Search Premier database. (AN: 10687963)

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