What Computers Cannot Do	What You Must Do
Find something that isn't there	Recognize that some material isn't available electronically; carefully select the databases you search
Correct a misspelled word	Type and proofread carefully; use alternate spelling when appropriate; recognize that typos occur in indexes and catalogs
discriminate between different meanings--such as Mercury the car or planet and mercury the mineral	add words preceded by "not" so you eliminate unwanted usage of your search terms
provide context	add terms that provide context--such as "toxic mercury"

Sometimes It's Better to Consult a Person--or a Book

For most topics you should be able to do at least some of the research electronically, but you may need to be persistent. Be prepared for some dead ends--sometimes the information just isn't on the Internet; or sometimes it's there under a different term or available with a different search tool. At times you will be better off finding the printed version. For example, even when you know that a particular article was on the front page of last Sunday's New York Times, you won't find the article electronically nearly so fast as you will if you just go to the library and pick up the paper, because only selected articles of The New York Times appear online, and what's available isn't indexed by page numbers.

In addition, many of the electronic sources will provide only a title or summary; once you have that information you will still have to go to the library stacks or the periodicals room to read the book or article. Of course, you won't know which are the best books or articles until you examine them.