Finding Reliable Sources on the Web

A good shortcut to finding information that you can trust online is to start with people and institutions you trust. Look at library and school websites for collections of links to sources that they have already evaluated for quality and accuracy.

Some places to start include:

• PSU Library Research Guides: These guides are prepared by PSU Subject Librarians to provide information on doing research in different disciplines. Many of them include recommended Web resources.
• Search the Academic Web: These searches (on the library homepage)point to specialized sources of academic information on the Web.
• IPL2, BUBL: These are large broad-based indexes of good sites maintained by groups of librarians around the world.

Sometimes the best source of information might not be a website! If you're not finding everything you need on the web, remember that you can look elsewhere (books, academic journals, magazines, newspapers, etc.) Just because searching the Web is easy doesn't mean it's always the easiest way to get what you need.

Finally - remember that you can always Ask a Librarian for assistance finding sources. We're glad to help!