Internet Research

Government Online

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Internet Research

Online Business

Information is your business

• The Internet is an incredible resource for information about business and businesses.

• You can track industries in which you’d 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.

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.

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

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.

Private Companies

• Privately held companies don’t 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

Internet Research

Online Health Information

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.com

The Merck Manual

• The Merck Manual has been a staple of medical professionals for years.

• An online version is available at www.merck.com

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.

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!