Library Research

Disadvantages of Electronic Online Searching:

While databases can seek and find a number of resources in record time, not all the returns will suit your informational needs.

• Too many returns   An enormous number of search results are often returned, particularly if you are searching the Internet.

• False hits   Mismatches for your key word search are common. For example, "AIDS" may easily turn up "false" hits such as "study aids" or "visual aids." 

• No cross-references   Perhaps the greatest disadvantage of online searching is the lack of cross-references that take the researcher from a poor choice of keywords to terms that will result in a higher rate of success. This is particularly true if you make a typographical error or spell a word wrong. 

Print vs. electronic forms of information

With easy access to electronic resources, one can understand why students might think of the research process as beginning and ending with computers. However, there is no "one-stop shopping" when it comes to doing quality research. A good researcher knows how to find information in a wide variety of formats.

Not all information is or will be available in electronic format.

Many information sources in academic disciplines are not yet available electronically. Computerized databases have only emerged as a research tool since the 1960's, so the bulk of information in libraries is in a print format, as it has been since the invention of the printing press in 1465.

It is inconceivable to believe that all of this historical knowledge will be transcribed into an electronic format.

• Speed It can take minutes (sometimes seconds) to search one or more databases while a comparable search in print indexes takes much longer. 

• Flexibility You can link words or search terms in a way that can never be done manually, often with better search results. 

• Variability Truncating (shortening) terms allow you to search for all the variations of a term. For example, using the truncated term "colleg#" will retrieve "college," "colleges," "collegial," and "collegiate." 

• More resources Online searching provides access to many more resources than are available in our library.

• Currency Online databases are updated more frequently than printed sources. 

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Centers for Teaching and Learning, San Mateo Community College District, CA USA    Updated  2/28/2010  by Sevastopoulos