To Use Or Not to Use?

My professor says I can't use the Web for my paper.

Ask your professor to clarify this, because there are basically 'two Webs.'

There is the public Web of freely available information that search engines find.

There is the private Web that is not available to everyone and where you usually have to pay for the information. Web resources the library buys that only the Southeast Missouri State University community can use is an example of the private Web.

An article you find using a database, such as Business Source Premier, is not a website or a webpage.

An article from a database can also exists in a print periodical. It's just delivered via the Internet by the library to facilitate research.

Go with the strengths of the public Web
• to obtain information on colleges, museums, non-profit organizations, or companies
• for very current information such as news, sports scores, weather, stock quotes
• to research a well-known event or individual
• to use online job postings, shopping, auctions, or travel services
• for opinions on a topic

Stop and think! There are better places to look than the public Web
• to find articles in scholarly journals
• to find articles published in popular magazines
• to search databases for articles in many academic disciplines
• to find books on your topic
• to locate the full text of articles or books that are copyrighted