Research Tools
Need Research Help? Unsure where to start? Contact a librarian.
Off Campus? Learn how to login into the Inver Hills databases.
Guides and Handouts
Internet Resources
The following is a very minute list of Internet resources available on selected topics. Many millions exist; this is just a sampling. Sites will be added and updated as time permits.
Search Engines | Art and Art History | Astronomy | Biology | Business | Chemistry | Citation Styles | Copyright | Dictionaries | Directories | Education | Emergency Health | Geography/Geology | History | Humanities | Languages | Law/Government | Libraries | Literature | Math | Minnesota | Multicultural Resources | Newspapers | Nursing | Online Journals & Ebooks | Physics | Radio & Television | Statistics
Search Engines
- Alexa-Web traffic rankings- some evaluations
- Intute-Creditable web resources for education and research
- Flickr --search for photos
- Google Scholar - scholarly article and paper searching through Google
- Yahoo!
- KartOO
- Gigablast
- Dogpile
- Infomine - scholarly internet resource collections
- IMLS Digital Content Online - Search across digital collections from art to newspapers
- lii.org - Librarian's Index to the Internet "Information you can trust."
- MEL - Michigan Electronic Library: "Best of the Internet Selected by Librarians"
- Invisible Web - "Uncovering information sources search engines can't see"
- Search Engine Watch compares/contrasts many different search engines.
- Search Engine Partnership Chart - how search engines partner with each other
- Way Back Machine - archive of old web pages
- Global Whois - find out who is responsible for a web site
- Online Books Page -over 25,000 free (public domain) books on the Web
Art and Art History
- American Museum of Photography
- The Artchive
- Art Images For College Teaching
- ArtsConnected - database of the collections at the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
- AskART
- Getty Museum
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Minneapolis Institute of Arts
- MoMA (Museum of Modern Art)
- Mother of All Art and Art History Links
- National Gallery of Art- the Collection (Washington, D.C.)
- National Gallery - Collection (London, England)
- National Museum of Women in the Arts
- Photo Study Collection Database - from the Getty Research Institute
- Sidney D. Gamble Photographs - photographs of China from 1908-1932
- Walker Art Center
Biology/Chemistry/Physics/Astronomy
- Biology Browser - from BIOSIS
- Botany: National Biological Institute Infrastructure
- Botany: Plant Parts and Functions
- Global Health Facts
- Healthy Heart - Cool video/website by InVision
- Heavens Above
- Household Products Database - how safe is your cleaning product?
- Human Anatomy Online
- Information Retrieval in Chemistry WWW Server
- International Disasters Data Base - Natural and man-made disasters since 1900
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- National Academies Press - Access over 3,000 current online books in science, engineering, and health. Hundreds of downloadable PDFs are free (after taking a short survey).
- New York Times Science page - Register (free) to read full article
- Plants Database from the USDA
- PLOS Biology: online biology journal
- RealClimate - Scientist-contributed blog about climate change
- Science.gov - Links to government web sites
- Science Reference Sources from the Library of Congress
- Science Timelines
- Sports and Nutrition
- Web Elements Periodic Table
- Why Files - the science behind the news
- World Wildlife Finder
- Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science Students
Business
- Access Business Online
- America's Career InfoNet
- Bplans.com - free sample business plans
- Better Business Bureau
- Brandchannel.com - Discussion of branding in media and its influence in society
- The Business Journal (formerly City Business)
- America's CareerInfoNet.org - "Informed Career Decisions"
- Cost of Living Calculator - compare buying power of your salary in another city or state
- County Business Patterns 2000 Minnesota (large PDF file)
- Department of the Treasury
- EDGAR
- Highlights of Women's Earnings 2003
- Hoover's Online
- ISEEK - career and employment information
- JobStar Salary Surveys
- Kiplinger Online
- Minnesota Salary Survey
- MnCareers.org
- MortgageLoan.com - Mortgage and Personal Finance Calculators
- Monthly Labor Review Online
- Online Career Center
- Small Business Administration
- Sperling's Best Places - compare cities and states cost of living/salaries
- STAT-USA - information on business, trade and economic development.
- WetFeet.com: Helping you make smarter career choice
Citation Styles: MLA, APA, CBE, Chicago
- Inver Hills Writing Center - get help with writing your papers
- MLA/APA Bibliography Formats - Side by Side (Developed for IHCC by Sara Ford and Laurel Watt)
- APA Electronic Sources Citation Guidelines
- Dartmouth University Citation Style Guide (both APA and MLA examples are given for each kind of citation)
- MLA Electronic Sources Citation Guidelines
- Online! Citation Style Guide from Bedford St. Martins Handbook: MLA, APA, CBE, Chicago
- Landmarks Citation Machine - Put in your information and a citation pops out!
- OWL: Online Writing Lab handouts at Purdue University: MLA, APA, ASA
- University of Wisconsin Writing Center Guides: MLA, APA, CBE, Chicago
- Assignment Calculator - from the U of Minnesota. Calculate how much time you need to research and write your paper!
- Research 101 - interactive tutorial about conducting research
Copyright
- Intellectual Property and Copyright Primer from MnSCU
- Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers from the North Carolina Conference of English Instructors
- Fair Use Guidelines and Scenarios from Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts
- Know Your Copy Rights from the Association of Research Libraries
- Copyright Initiatives from the University of Minnesota
- Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines from University of Maryland Libraries
- Copyright Crash Course from the University of Texas
Faculty: Please contact the Bookstore if you need copyright permission for class materials.
Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Thesauri
- Biographical Dictionary
- Encyclopedia.com - Excerpts from the Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.
- The Free Dictionary - Site includes a regular word dictionary, medical, legal, financial dictionaries, acronyms and idioms.
- Roget's Thesaurus
- Urban Dictionary - Dictionary in which users write in the definitions of currently used slang.
- WWWebster Dictionary
- Your dictionary.com - English and other language dictionaries
Directories
- AnyWho from At & T
- Qwest Dex yellow and white pages.
- Congressional Email Directory
- Local and International Telephone Directories
Education
- College Navigator - Find a school with the program you want anywhere in the country
- CCRC Community College Research Center at the Teachers College, Columbia University
- Chronicle of Higher Education - Community College News
- Copyright Information & Education - created by the U of Minnesota Libraries
- Copyright Law
- ERIC - new site for searching the Education Resources Information Center
- A Half-Century of Learning--Census Bureau report on educational attainment in the US 1940-2000
- MnSCU
- MnSCU Copyright Primer
- MIT OpenCourseWare - Free access to MIT courses
- Report on the Urban Teacher Program (UTP) February 2006
Geography/Geology
- Countries of the World - Country information from various US government publications
- ePodunk - the Power of Place: National city and town information and statistics
- Earth Trends: The Environment Information Portal
- Earth Science Image Bank
- GeoData.gov-U.S. Maps & Data: "Your one-stop for federal, state & local geographic data."
- Global Change - "Gateway to global change data and information"
- How Volcanoes Work - from the Geology Dept. at San Diego State University
- National Academies Press - Access over 3,000 current online books in science, engineering, and health. Hundreds of downloadable PDFs are free (after taking a short survey).
- National Geographic Publications Index - search past issues of the National Geographic and other NG publications
- National Weather Service Hazard Statistics - "How many times does a tornado strike a person per year?"
- National Oceanographic Data Center
- NEIC Earthquake Database Search
- NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association
- RealClimate - Scientist-contributed blog about climate change
- Operational Significant Event Imagery - High resolution imagery of storms, fires, volcanoes, etc.
- This Dynamic Planet - "World map of volcanoes, earthquakes, impact craters and plate tectonics"
- TOXNET - Toxicology Data Network from the US National Library of Medicine
- World Weather Information Service
History
- AARC: Assassination Archives and Research Center
- American Heritage Magazine
- Canadian Newspapers and World War II
- Dakota County Historical Society
- Minnesota Historical Society
- Economic History Services features "how much is that" "economic history in the popular press" and lots more
- Minnesota
- International Disasters Data Base - Natural and man-made disasters since 1900
- National Geographic Index - searchable index to the National Geographic magazine back to the first issue in 1888
- Organization of American Historians - links to history web sites.
- Our Documents - view the documents that helped shape the US from the Declaration of Independence to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
- Portals to the World from the Library of Congress
- Sidney D. Gamble Photographs - photographs of China from 1908-1932
Languages
- BBC Languages- free online language courses from the BBC
- Ethnologue Country Index - Languages of the World
- French Connection
- German Studies Web
- Germanic Language - Free Online Dictionaries
- Learn Spanish
- Toool.de - German site that clearly groups search engines into categories, making it easy to find one that will give you the best results for your query.
Law/Government
- Copyright Law
- LLRX.com - Guide to the Supreme Court
- LawHelpMN.org - Low cost legal aid
- Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance
- Legal forms from AllLaw.com
- Legal forms from Lectlaw.com
- MALL Internet Reference Guide - created by the MN Association of Law Librarians. Complete list of links to MN and national law resources.
- Minnesota County and Municipal Ordinaces
- Minnesota Court of Appeals
- Minnesota Court Forms
- Minnesota Court Rules
- Minnesota Courts Glossary of Terms
- Minnesota Department of Corrections Statistics
- Minnesota Legal Periodical Index
- Minnesota Legal Search Engine on Lawmoose.com
- Minnesota Legislative Reference Library
- Minnesota State Law Library
- Minnesota Statutes
- Minnesota Trial Court records - public access
- MnSCU Copyright Primer
- National Criminal Justice Reference Center
- Nolo.com
- Open CRS Congressional Research Service Reports
- U.S. Federal Code
Libraries
- Research 101
- British Library
- British Library Turning Pages Collection - turn the pages of such famous books as Leonardo's Notebooks, Lindisfarne Gospels, and Sultan Baybar's Qu'ran.
- Dakota County Library
- Hennepin County Library
- Internet Public Library
- James J. Hill Reference Library
- Library of Congress
- Minneapolis Public Library
- Minnesota Legislative Reference Library
- Minnesota State Law Library
- Ramsey County Library
- Red Wing Public Library
- Scott County Library
- SELCO Libraries
- St. Paul Public Library
- Transportation Libraries Catalog
- University of Minnesota MNCAT
- Washington County Library
- WWW Virtual Library
Literature/Humanities
- Inver Hills English Department
- The Academy of American Poets
- American Authors - from Gonzaga University
- The American Studies Web
- Black Cultural Studies Web Site
- Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
- CAPA - Contemporary American Poetry Archive
- Cultural Studies Central
- Electronic Poetry Center
- Gale Literary Index
- Guide to Writing Research Papers - from Capital Community-Technical College
- Humanities Educational Leadership Program (H.E.L.P.)
- Literary Research Tools on the Net
- Nuts and Bolts of College Writing
- Plagiarism Tutorial from Fairfield University in Connecticut
- Pulitzer Prizes Online
- Smithsonian Institute
- Children's Book Awards
- Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science Students
Mathematics
- Algebasics - Audio tutorials of algebra functions
- Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Section
Minnesota
- Northstar Minnesota government information and services.
- Minnesota Historical Society
- Dakota County Historical Society
- Minnesota Digital Library - Over 5,000 photographs from historical collections around the state
- MNMag - Minnesota Magazine Index at the Minneapolis Public Library, indexes 9 Minnesota periodicals including City Pages, Minnesota Monthly, and Mpls. St. Paul Magazine.
- Minnesota Tax Forms and Information
- Education Credits - Hope and Lifetime Learning Credits
- Free Credit Report
- Federal Tax Forms
- Wisconsin Tax Forms and Information
Multicultural Resources
- Countries of the World - Country information from various US government publications
- Country Background Notes - from the US Dept. of State
- Country Insights - Canadian government site full of great country and cultural info
- Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota
- Cultural Profiles Project - produced in Canada. Choose the country then click on the link for the kind of information you want.
- Death Customs - link from the POV show
- Death Customs and Beliefs Across Different Religions
- Ethnomed - Information about cultural beliefs, medical issues, etc. of recent immigrants and refugees.
- HARP - British site of cultural information on a variety of topics
- Hmong Cultural Center
- An Islamic Point of View - from the MN Dept. of Human Rights
- Islamic Resource Center of Minnesota
- Languages of the World
- Learn About Hmong - great site for cultural information
- Somali Resource - Resources and information for and about Somali immigrants in the Twin Cities
- WWW Hmong Homepage
- World Wedding Traditions from around the world
- Wilder Foundation reports on different cultures in Minnesota
Newspapers
- Asian American Press - "Building Community within Diversity"
- Asian Pages
- Christian Science Monitor
- Chronicle of Higher Education
- City Pages: Current issue and article archive back to 1991
- Financial Times
- Himilo Somali Newspaper
- Hmong Times
- Hmong Today
- La Prensa de Minnesota
- Los Angeles Times
- Minnesota Newspapers Directory - newspaper listings by city
- Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
- Mondo Times - Worldwide Media Guide
- Native American Press/Ojibwe News
- New York Times
- Online Newspapers - Internet Public Library
- Pioneer Press (pioneerplanet.com)
- Reporter's Internet Resources - From the National Press Club
- Star Tribune
- Washington Post
- World Press Review
Nursing/Emergency Health
- AEGIS: AIDS Education Global Information Service
- All Refer.com: health - "Up-to-date and accurate health information."
- CAM ion PubMed - Complementary and alternative medicine database
- Centers for Disease Control
- Clinical Trials
- DailyMed - "...provides high-quality information about marketed drugs."
- The Emergency Medical Services Website
- Ethnomed - Information about cultural beliefs, medical issues, etc. of recent immigrants and refugees.
- Global Health Facts
- Hardin MD - Great site from the U of Iowa Hardin Library. Good site for pictures and graphics.
- HARP - Health for Asylum Seekers & Refugees Portal - British site with great cultural and medical info
- Harvard Health Publications - Harvard Medical School
- HEALTHmap - Global disease alert map
- Health Web
- Healthy Heart - Cool video/website by InVision
- Human Anatomy Online
- Introduction to Evidence-Based Medicine- Tutorial
- Inver Hills Emergency Health Services
- Mayo Clinic Online - Health & Medical Information
- Medical Encyclopedia from MedlinePlus
- MEDLINE Plus - Health Information
- Merck Manuals Online
- National Academies Press - Access over 3,000 current online books in health, science, and engineering. Hundreds of downloadable PDFs are free (after taking a short survey).
- National Library of Medicine
- NIHM: National Institute of Mental Health
- NutritionData
- NIDA for Teens: The Science Behind Drug Abuse
- OMNI - Gateway to creditable internet health information
- Population Reports - Global reports on health issues world wide
- Public Health Image Library - Photographs, illustrations, and multimedia files
- PubMed index for Medline.
- TOXNET - Toxicology Data Network from the US National Library of Medicine
- Worker Health Chartbook 2004
- World Health Organization
Online Journals & Ebooks
- DOAJ - Directory of Open Access Journals: free, full-text scholarly articles
- Online Books Page - online book listing maintained by Univ. of Pennsylvania
- The Business Journal (formerly City Business)
- Byte Magazine
- Hmong Studies Journal
- Hmong Bibliographies by Subject
- New Internationalist
- Internet Public Library list of online serials
- NewJour an Internet list of new journals on the web
- Journal of the Canadian Medical Association
- Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education
Radio & Television
- BBC
- CNN
- KARE-11
- Minnesota Public Radio
- Mondo Times - Worldwide Media Guide
- National Public Radio
- PBS Online
- WCCO
- WBGH Media Library and Archives - Open Vault
Statistics
- Air Disasters
- Center for Defense Information - Research on international security
- Consumer Price Index
- Economic History Services features "how much is that" "economic history in the popular press" and lots more
- ePodunk - the Power of Place: National city and town information and statistics
- Energy Information Administration Statistics - energy use by country and fuel
- Factcheck.org - Political fact check site
- Fast Facts: Almanacs/Factbooks/Statistical Reports
& Related Reference Tools - Genderstats - produced by the World Bank Organization
- Highlights of Women's Earnings 2003
- Liber8 - An Economic information portal for librarians and students
- Minnesota Agricultural Statistics Service
- Minnesota Dept. of Labor & Industry: Research and Statistics
- Minnesota Legislative Commission on the Economic Status of Women
- NationMaster.com - Statistics from World Bank, World Trade Organization, OECD, United Nations and more.
- NCES-International Education Indicators
- NCJRS - National Criminal Justice Reference Service: Links to statistics, articles, and full-text publications on a variety of criminal justice subjects
- OECD Factbook 2007- Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics- compare statistics across countries.
- Offstats - Collection of official statistical websites from various country government websites. Maintained by the University of Auckland Library.
- Pew Internet & American Life - Surveys/statistics on how people use the internet
- SAMHSA National Household Survey of Drug Abuse: 2001
- Trac Immigration--comprehensive, independent and nonpartisan information about U.S. federal immigration enforcement
- U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- U.S. Census Bureau
- Worker Health Chartbook 2004
- World Bank statistics
- World Bank Statistics II
- World Statistics
- ZIPskinny - Demographic comparison tool for the US