Internet Research

1
Internet Research

• Government Online

2
Government Gateways

• The amount of information produced by the
  government is staggering.
• Billions of bills, files, research studies and
  other paperwork are churned out annually.
• Much of this is now online.
• How does anyone begin to study it? Through
  gateways.

3
FirstGov

• Gateways are simply guides or organizing sites to
  the plethora of government information.
• www.firstgov.gov is crucial
• Private sites have tried to organize government
  information. See www.searchgov.com and
  www.google.com/unclesam

4
FedWorld

• www.fedworld.gov is supported by the U.S.
  Department of Commerce.
• Its specialty is the treasure trove of U.S.
  databases, from health care studies to job
  listings.
• The site also is an excellent introduction to
  U.S. government reports.

5
FedLaw

• FedLaw was developed, unsurprisingly, to organize
  federal legal and judicial information.
• http//fedlaw.gsa.gov can provide you with
  information about legislation, laws, courts,
  hearings and other legal stuff.

6
Other government sites

• Other government sites rank among the best on the
  Internet
• www.whitehouse.gov - see daily press briefings
  www.census.gov - profile your community
• www.sec.gov - profile a company
• www.loc.gov - The Library of Congress
• www.nara.gov - The National Archives and Records
  Administration
• www.epa.gov - Environmental Protection Agency

7
Internet Research

• Online Business

8
Information is your business

• The Internet is an incredible resource for
  information about business and businesses.
• You can track industries in which youd like to
  work, like entertainment or news.
• You can use the Internet to do research on a
  company or person.
• You can get investment advice.

9
Public or Private?

• An important consideration Is the business you
  are interested in private or public?
• Public companies have shares that are traded on a
  stock exchange. They must fill out out numerous
  forms and reports that often are available
  online.

10
The SEC EDGAR

• The Securities Exchange Commission SEC is
  responsible for collecting, organizing and
  distributing business information.
• The SEC has created an amazing online database
  EDGAR, Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and
  Retrieval.
• Find it at www.sec.gov

11
Tenkwizard.com

• You will find that 10-K forms, filed annually at
  the end of the year, are perhaps the fastest and
  most comprehensive source of information on
  public traded companies.
• www.tenkwizard.com provides fast access.

12
Private Companies

• Privately held companies dont have to fill out
  the forms that public companies do.
• You can still get online information on private
  companies through business web sites, wire
  services and other outlets.
• www.hoovers.com
• www.companiesonline.com
• www.morningstar.com

13
Internet Research

• Online Health Information

14
Online for Health

• Some studies suggest that more than half the
  searches undertaken online are health related.
• As with many other areas, from business to law,
  the Internet has put more information into the
  hands of more people than ever before.

15
Evaluating information

• With health information in particular, the online
  researcher must carefully evaluate and judge
  Internet sources.
• Trusty Google can take you to many sites. Some
  are well intentioned but wrong. Others can be
  malicious and dangerous.

16
National Library of Medicine

• Many fine sites can provide researchers with a
  wealth of good, reliable information about
  sickness and health.
• The database, Medline, at the the National
  Library of Medicine, has been around since 1966.
• www.nlm.nih.gov

17
Medscape

• Although not a government site, Medscape has
  emerged as another authoritative health resource.
• Originally produced by the same medical
  professionals who created CBS Healthwatch,
  www.medscape.com eventually merged with
  Healthwatch.

18
WebMD

• Another authoritative site for online health
  information is
• www.webmd.com
• As its name implies, WebMD offers services to
  doctors as well as patients.

19
Healthfinder.org

• www.healthfinder.org attempts to organize the
  array of health information available online.
• You can also try a subject directory, which has
  someone checking out listed sites for
  authenticity, such as www.yahoo.directory.health.c
  om

20
The Merck Manual

• The Merck Manual has been a staple of medical
  professionals for years.
• An online version is available at www.merck.com

21
Drugs

• Information about drugs is available at many of
  these sites.
• However, other sites have tried to organize the
  vast material on drugs available in the United
  States.
• www.rxlist.com, for example, has a listing of the
  Top 200 drugs and information on each.

22
Political, Business and Health Wisdom

• For information on government, business, sickness
  and health, the Internet has become perhaps the
  most valuable tool.
• Knowledge of Internet research can make you a
  better citizen, more successful and keep you
  alive!