This page contains a description of the "Types" feature on InfoTree. You may also want to look at some of the specific pages listed here:

• Introduction
• Help with Searching
• My InfoTree

1. Start Browsing with Types

Click on Advanced Search at the top of any page. To the right of the search box, you will see link that says Type or Format of Item. After clicking on it, you will a list of all available types of materials in InfoTree. Click on one and you will see a list of all Subjects which have one or more records of that type.

 

2. Start Browsing by Subject

Start from InfoTree's front page and start browsing by clicking on one of the subject terms there. As you browse the following pages, look for the heading "Types for this topic" in the light gray box on the right of the screen. Clicking on one of these Types labels will let you view only items of that particular type for the subject you are looking at.

 

3. Searching

When you do a Advanced Search, in the search box you will see several popup menus that serve as search "filters." Go to the Types popup menu, choose one of the Types listed there, and click on the Search button again.

Please note that these explanations are not rigid. It is not always easy--or even possible--to accurately group websites or other resources into categories like these. The use of Types in InfoTree is an attempt to do this, but it's not perfect.

Almanacs

As defined in the American Heritage Dictionary: "A usually annual reference book composed of various lists, tables, and often brief articles relating to a particular field or many general fields."

Article Databases/Indexes

This includes databases which provide access to periodical articles, whether citations only, abstracts, or full-text. Also included here are printed indexes to articles which are not available online. Other kinds of databases (e.g., for statistics, dissertations, or other data types) will have the Type Databases instead.

Bibliography

Used for some printed bibliographies or online listings which are not really searchable as databases.

Biography

Information about people, either as individuals or in databases such as Biography Resource Center, which covers many individuals.

Calculators and Converters

Sources which allow some kind of online computation, such as weights and measures, calendar conversion, or inflation rates.

Databases

Resources whose only, or primary, means of access is via a search tool and which do not contain article citations (see above). Websites which happen to have a search feature--and most do, nowadays--are not really databases as such. Our library website is a good example of this.

Dictionaries

Both general and subject-specific dictionaries.

Directories

Sources whose primary information is of the name-address-phone number nature. Examples include online phone listings, directories of businesses , organizations, government agencies, and the like.

Encyclopedias

General and subject-specific encyclopedias.

Images

Use for resources whose primary content is images, e.g., AP Photo Archive.

Journal Listings

Several kinds of subject-oriented lists are labeled this way:

• listings in ALICE for electronic journals
• electronic journals from JSTOR
• electronic journals from the OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center

Note: with very few exceptions, InfoTree does not list individual journals, either electronic or in printed form. If you're looking for specific journals, do a Periodical Title Search on ALICE.

Library Holdings Lists

Links to lists of items in the OU Libraries' collections. Examples include lists of newspapers, children's books, listings of electronic journals, etc.

Maps

Resources whose primary content is maps.

Multimedia

Sources whose main content is images and/or sounds, as opposed to text.

Online Tutorials

Resources whose main content consists of instruction on how to do research in general, or how to use specific kinds of research tools.

Primary Sources

Original source materials, often documents of a historical nature written by the individuals involved in historical events.

Research Guides

Guides, often written by Ohio University Librarians, which both describe the research process and include lists of research tools in specific subject areas.

Reviews and Ratings

Resources whose main content consists of reviews of books or movies, ratings of colleges and universities, or evaluations of consumer products.

Search Engines

Search tools whose primary function is to provide keyword searching of websites. Search engines may be general in nature (i.e., they cover all subjects) Google, or they may be subject-specific, such as Scirus.

Statistics

Resources whose primary content is statistical data.

Subject Bibliographers

Librarians who serve as specialists in various subject areas. They work with faculty members to order library materials for their assigned areas, provide instruction on research, and contribute content to InfoTree.

Web Gateways

Use for sites which have some type of subject browsing as a major component. These would be sites which have little or not content of their own, but mostly or entirely consist of links to other sites. Contrast this with Websites (general), below.

Websites (general)

In contrast with Web Gateways (above), this Type label is used for sites which have significant content in their own right, rather than consisting primarily of links to other sites.