There are many sources to find information. They all have advantages and disadvantages. There are good places to start and some sources that are better used later. This is the order that I would recommend using information sources.
1st Stop: Books/eBooks While books may seem old-fashioned, books are still the best source for finding general information on a topic. eBooks count as books, and you have access to many of them through Gale Virtual Reference Library.
2nd Stop: OLDB (Online Databases.). Online databases contain high quality information that was written by experts so you can rely on it. We have access to several databases through the Library website under the Research Button.
3rd Stop: Internet Resources (Free Web) The internet can be an excellent source of information as long as you realize that it is also full of disinformation. The user must be much more careful when using internet sources.
In order to use BVMS Online Resources, you will need passwords. The passwords can be found on this document. PASSWORDS
You probably noticed that when trying to open this document, it asked for a password. That password is your favorite feathered mascot with a lower case first letter. If you still can't think of it, please drop me a message.
BVMS students have access to thousands of eBooks though the Gale Virtual Resource Library (GVRL). This can be found in the "Research" part of the library website or at this link. https://galeapps.gale.com/apps/auth?userGroupName=over99912&origURL=https%3A%2F%2Fgo.gale.com%2Fps%2Fstart.do%3Fp%3DGVRL%26u%3Dover99912%26authCount%3D1&prodId=GVRL
There are reference books on many topics in this resource. To use at home, you will need a password, which can be found on the research page in the left hand column. That page will require a password to access. The password is your favorite feathered mascot, with a lower case first letter.
Encyclopedias are useful for quick reference and overviews of a topic but are not usually considered an in-depth research tool.
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Online Electronic Databases (OLDB - Usually just called Databases) are cites that contain hundreds of thousands of articles on thousands of topics. What is the difference between a Database and the internet? Everything that appears in a database was written or edited by an expert in the field. The articles are up to date and have often been peer reviewed, meaning they were sent to other experts for their approval. BVMS has several databases for students to use. When using databases from home, you will need passwords, which can be found on the passwords link on this page.
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The internet is what you are using when you use a search engine like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc., etc., etc. While there is vast amounts of information on the internet, the biggest difference between it and databases is that the internet is called "open access" meaning ANYBODY can post information on it, whether the information is quality or not. When using information from the internet, that is when it is highly recommended that you use the C.A.R.S. checklist. The C.A.R.S. checklist is explained on the second page of this libguide.
