Digital Repository @ WTS
A digital archive of Western Theological Seminary's history.
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Western Theological Seminary
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Searching on the Internet
Google®. Bing®. Yahoo®.
These services use sophisticated algorithims in an attempt to index the millions of sites that are connected to the internet. What they cannot do (not yet, maybe never) is help you as a researcher evaluate the data they link to.
Care must be taken in using information retrieved from internet sites. Unlike the print resources found in the library and the electronic databases and peer-reviewed journals provided by the library, freely-available Internet resources have not necessarily been published by reputable academic publishers nor have they been selected by librarians with expertise in their subject area. Nearly anything can be posted on a website. Just because it is available online does not mean it is valid or authoritative.
This does not mean that you can't find good resources on the Internet; the key to doing so is to carefully evaluate what you find on the web. If you use web resources, be sure to ask these questions:
- Who is the author of the Web site? Are the author's credentials listed? Are the credentials relevant to the topic?
- What institution or organization is behind the Web site?
- When was the Web site created or last updated?
- Who is the intended audience for the Web site?
- Is the information provided objective or biased?
- How does the quality of the information provided by the site compare to other works, including print works?
Open Databases
- OpenDissertations This link opens in a new window EBSCO Open Dissertations is an open-access database built to assist researchers in locating both historic and contemporary dissertations and theses. Created with the generous support of the H.W. Wilson Foundation and the Congregational Library & Archives in Boston, it incorporates EBSCO’s previously released American Doctoral Dissertations, and features additional dissertation metadata contributed by select colleges and universities from around the world. Providing researchers with citations to graduate research across a span of time, from the early 20th century to the present, this database will continue to grow through regular updates and new partnerships with graduate degree-granting institutions.
- ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Professional: Open This link opens in a new window PDQT Open provides the full text of open access dissertations and theses free of charge. The authors have opted to publish as open access and make their research available for free. Please note the content is mostly North American
- SeLaDoc: La Base de datos de Teología Latinoamericana This link opens in a new window
Published by the Department of Theology at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, SeLaDoc is an open access reference database which includes unpublished titles of most of the journals of theology and pastoral reflection of Latin America and the Caribbean. This database is open to any reader and is useful for anyone interested in religious and theological topics in general, or in Latin American theological production.
