Activity 4.2
Comparing Resources Revealed by Academic and Nonacademic Databases

In this chapter we emphasized that in building a bibliography you must take into consideration the quality (reputation) and the credibility of sources. In this exercise you will compare the results of electronic searches of academic and nonacademic databases. Use the keywords "political alienation." Conduct a search using an academic database linked to your library's Web page such as EBSCO HOST (Academic Elite), Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (Social Science Abstract or P.A.I.S. International) or JSTOR. Record the first five resources that are revealed. Repeat the process, using an Internet browser (Netscape or Internet Explorer) and the search engine Google. Write a brief essay comparing the resources revealed by each search.