Where to search?
There are many different places in which one might find academic information. Often, the best place to search depends on the search technique that is used. As a general rule, for a reference search (title or author, preferably both) it is best to use a search engine with a wide scope, for this increases the chance of success. For a topic search, it is best to search in a more specific pre-selected area, such as a subject specific database. For merely browsing, subject specific portals or topic guides are useful starting points. For books and especially for ‘aged’ information which has not been digitalized, library and archive catalogues are the best place to start your search.
For a known item search: academic search engines
For browsing: subject specific portals
- Selection of subject guides (doorlinken naar hierachical searching)
For a topic search: databases
For print books, journals and ‘aged’ information: library Catalogues
- UL catalogue (EUR collection)
- Picarta (national collection of most library catalogues)
- Worldcat (international collection of library catalogues)