Description:
Kennedy's book on Web research sites is for anybody who's ever been frustrated by getting millions of useless hits out of a search engine. She shows you where to look when you need information, but don't have all day to slug through out-of-date, deserted, and plain inaccurate Web pages. Although Kennedy gives some guidelines for good search techniques--primarily when providing tips on using specific search sites--her emphasis is on reference sites that will lead you to dependable information. The book mentions the big guns, such as Yahoo! and AltaVista, but the value of this collection lies in the more specialized sites. Kennedy devotes a chapter, for example, to sites that knowledgeable librarians and journalists depend upon. Another chapter concentrates on sites particularly useful for tracking down people. The chapter on evaluating Internet resources is loaded with information everyone should know before attempting to do meaningful research online. In addition, Kennedy provides witty commentary on all the sites she reviews, on the state of the Internet, and on Internet culture as a whole. It's hard to open the book and not find an interesting reference site to explore. -- Elizabeth Lewis
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