Divinity Research Tutorial

3. How do I find resources on the Internet about my topic?

Our sample topic: Prayer in the public schools

Another source for information about our topic is the Internet. The Internet is full of information, but you have to be careful about the quality and reliability of what you find. Use good judgment and common sense when evaluating the quality of websites. Ask yourself questions like these:

• Who is the intended audience of the website?
• Is the site located on an academic, commercial, or organizational server?
• Is the author or producer of the site identified?
• What is the authority or expertise of the person or group that created the site?
• When was the site last updated or revised?

Many libraries have begun to make an effort to help their patrons sift through the millions of websites available on the Internet. The Yale Divinity Library's Research Guide for Christianity is one such effort.

The Research Guide for Christianity:

A good first step for identifying relevant websites is to consult the Research Guide for Christianity that has been developed by the Divinity Library staff. This Guide is accessible via the Divinity Library homepage or the YUL Research Workstation: Subject Guides. If you are not familiar with the Research Guide, click here to take a look at it and then return to this page using your browser's back button.

The Research Guide for Christianity contains information about both print and electronic resources. The Guide sorts these resources in two basic ways: by format and by subject. Both listings eventually lead you to the same information. You may want to explore the Research Guide for Christianity thoroughly at some point, but this module focuses on use of the Internet, so let's look at the Selected Internet Sites and Electronic Texts.

The Selected Internet Sites and Electronic Texts page begins with a list of general resources; this is followed by a list of eight subject categories. For a subject like prayer in the public school more than one of these subject categories might have relevance. Let's say we were looking for denominational stances on prayer in the public schools. Click on Church/Denominational/Ecumenical resources. After you examine this page, return to this page by using your back button.

You will have noticed that there were a number of sites devoted to the major denominations. Some were the "official" sites of the denomination, and some were "unofficial." If you were trying to find the official stance of a particular denomination, you would obviously want to make sure the site you picked was official.

Return to the Church/Denominational/ Ecumenical resources page. Then click on the official site of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and examine it. When you are done, return to this page using your browser's back button.

The Keyword Search String: +prayer +"public schools"

On the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s front page, it is not immediately obvious where you would find information on prayer in public schools. However, you may have noticed that you can search the site. This link is located on the right side of the screen. Return to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) site and click on Search pcusa.org. After consulting the "quick tips" we can construct a better search; put this search string in the search box: +prayer +"public schools"

You should have received around 80 documents. There is no need to look through all these links. However some of them will clearly give you a good idea about the PC (USA)'s official stance on prayer in public schools.

Not all sites on the Internet allow you to search their site, but many do, particularly ones listed on the Research Guide to Christianity. It is an very good way to find specific information without having to dig through possibly hundreds of links, although every search engine is different and you'll probably save yourself time and effort if you look over the help pages.

Using Search Engines

Another way to use the Internet is to treat it like a big database and do a search using one of the many search engines available. It is really your choice as to which one you use. Some of the most popular are as follows:

Google - *recommended*
AltaVista
Yahoo
See the Librarian's Index to the Internet Recommended Search Tools page for more options.

It is important to remember that each search tool is slightly different and performs searches differently. Consult a Search Tools Chart for more information on the differences among various search engines.

Go to Part 4 for information on locating additional resources.