4.5: Useful Online Resources

In some situations, you may want to start your research by referring to one authoritative and relevant source instead of searching the library or Internet. This might be particularly useful for situations where you want a quick and official answer to a relatively noncontroversial topic. The lists of sources that follow are either "official" in nature or involve publications that typically include at least one layer of critical review. Those sources that have not been critically reviewed will be fairly obvious. Be aware that online resources and links change quickly; the links below represent a snapshot of what was available as this edition went into publication.

Air Force Sources

• Air Force Link (http://www.af.mil/). The official website of the United States Air Force with the latest Air Force news, career information, biographies, images, and a host of information useful to all members of the Department of the Air Force,. There are links to other related sites including the full text of key reports, the online version of Airman Magazine, other publications and social media sites.
• Air Force Portal (https://www.my.af.mil/). The Air Force portal combines a number of Air Force websites and computer systems into one common interface. Individuals must register and establish an account.
• Air Force Publications (http://www.e-publishing.af.mil). The full-text of most standard Air Force publications.
• Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA) (http://www.afhra.af.mil/). This agency’s holdings consist of over 70,000,000 pages devoted to the history of the United States Air Force. Contact information is listed on the AFHRA home page above.
• Air University (AU) Press (http://aupress.au.af.mil/). The AU Press publication program is designed primarily to help war fighters and policy makers understand and apply air, space and cyber power in peacetime and conflict. AU Press publishes books, monographs and research papers by military authors and civilian scholars.
• Air War College (AWC) Gateway to Internet Resources (http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/awcgate.htm). This site includes documents and links organized for topics across the breadth of military and national security issues and resources.
• Internet Searching Tools (http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/awc-srch.htm). This site includes links helpful for anyone wishing to improve their Internet research skills.
• Morning Report (https://cs.eis.af.mil/afpa/AFStory/default.aspx). The Morning Report is produced by the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs. Access requires a dot.mil connection and secure login. Once logged in, click on the "Links Version" banner for the current Morning Report.
• Muir S. Fairchild Research Information Center (MSFRIC) (http://www.au.af.mil/au/aul/lane.htm). The Muir S. Fairchild Research Information Center, founded in 1946 as the Air University Library, is the premier library in DoD. MSFRIC improves Air Force education by providing access to the world of information through quality library services. Resources available on the website include access to databases, bibliographies, online library assistance, full-text journal articles, relevant research links and assignment assistance for students and faculty enrolled in AU courses. Submit research requests at: http://www.au.af.mil/mailer/index.asp?AUL-Reference.

Other US Military Services

• US Army (http://www.army.mil/). This is the official website of the US Army. It provides the latest news, as well as information about careers, a library (of public websites), an image gallery and social media links.
• US Army Publications (http://www.apd.army.mil/). The full text of most standard Army publications.
• US Army Military History Institute (USAHMI) (http://www.carlisle.army.mil/AHEC/USAMHI/). USAHMI collects, organizes, preserves and makes available source materials on American military history to the defense community, academic researchers and the public. Research requests can be submitted using the submittal info on the site.
• US Coast Guard (http://www.uscg.mil/). The official website of the US Coast Guard. It provides the latest news, as well as information about careers, a library (of public websites) and an image gallery.
• US Marine Corps (http://www.marines.mil/). The official website of the US Marine Corps. It provides the latest news, as well as information about careers, a library (of public websites), an image gallery and social media links
• US Marine Corps Publications (http://www.marines.mil/news/publications/). The full-text of most standard Marine Corps publications.
• US Marine Corps History Division (http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD/). The official United States Marine Corps History Division website. This site provides a variety of information about the division and most importantly on the histories and traditions of the United States Marine Corps.
• US Navy (http://www.navy.mil/). The official website of the US Navy. It provides the latest news, as well as information about careers, a library (of public websites), an image gallery and social media links.
• US Navy Issuances, Manuals and Directives (http://doni.daps.dla.mil/). The full-text of most standard Navy directives.
• US Naval History & Heritage Command (http://www.history.navy.mil/). The Naval Historical Center is the official history program of the Department of the Navy. It includes a museum, art gallery, research library, archives and curator as well as research and writing programs.
• National Guard (http://www.nationalguard.mil/). The official website of the National Guard. It provides the latest news, as well as information about careers, a library (of public websites), an image gallery and social media links.
• Reserve Affairs (http://ra.defense.gov/). The official website for reserve affairs. It provides the latest news, as well as information about careers, a library (of public websites), an image gallery and social media links.

Department of Defense (DoD) Sources

• Defense.gov (http://www.defense.gov/Defense.gov). The official website for the Department of Defense and the starting point for finding US military information online. It contains links to publications, statements, social media, etc.
• Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) (http://www.dtic.mil/DTIC). DTIC serves the DoD community as the largest central resource for DoD and governmentfunded scientific, technical, engineering and business related information available today. The DTIC network provides access to all unclassified, unlimited documents added into DTIC since December 1974. Descriptive summaries and full-text files are available for some documents.
• Early Bird. This service was discontinued effective 1 Nov 13. See Morning Report, above, under "Air Force Sources."
• Foreign Military Studies Office (http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/). The Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is an open source research organization of the US Army. FMSO conducts unclassified research of foreign perspectives of defense and security issues that are understudied or unconsidered but that are important for understanding the environments in which the US military operates.
• Joint Electronic Library (http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/index.html). The Joint Electronic Library (JEL) provides access to full-text copies of Joint Publications, the Department of Defense Dictionary, Service Publications, History Publications, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) Directives, research papers and other publications.
• MERLN (http://merln.ndu.edu/). The Military Education Research Library Network (MERLN) is a comprehensive website devoted to international military education outreach. It represents a consortium of military education research libraries that work together to provide access to a variety of unique electronic resources for the use of researchers and scholars. On the Internet since 1990, MERLN provides indexing to significant articles, news items, editorials and book reviews appearing in military and aeronautical periodicals, many of which are not indexed elsewhere. MERLN also provides access to the major library catalogs of several PME schools.

Military Bibliographies

A bibliography is a great starting point for research. These bibliographies are compiled by librarians who have examined relevant sources from Internet sites, books, documents, magazine articles, and videos. Some of the most useful military bibliographies include

• Muir S. Fairchild Research Information Center (MSFRIC) Bibliographies. (http://www.au.af.mil/au/aul/bib97.htm).
• Joint Forces Staff College Library. (http://www.jfsc.ndu.edu/library/publications/bibliography/).
• Marine Corps University Research Guides (http://guides.grc.usmcu.edu/).
• Naval Postgraduate School (http://www.nps.edu/Library/).
• US Army Military History Institute (http://www.carlisle.army.mil/ahec/USAMHI/).
• US Army War College Library (http://www.carlisle.army.mil/library/bibliographies.htm).

Military Newspaper and Magazine Indexes and Lists

Some indexes listed below require a paid subscription. Contact your local or base library for free availability using their subscription.

• Air University Library Index to Military Periodicals (AULIMP) (http://aulimp.au.af.mil). AULIMP is produced by the MSFRIC and contains citations to articles in English language military journals. The MSFRIC (formally AU Library) has been producing AULIMP since 1949 and material after 1987 is available on the web.
• DoD and Military Electronic Journals (http://www.au.af.mil/au/aul/periodicals/DoDelecj.htm). An electronic list compiled and maintained by the staff of the MSFRIC.
• Read Military News (http://www.au.af.mil/au/aul/periodicals/milnews.htm). A listing of defense and military service news including base newspapers compiled and maintained by MSFRIC.
• Staff College Automated Military Periodicals Index (SCAMPI) (http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/scampi/). Developed to support the Armed Forces Staff College; SCAMPI provides selected citations to journal articles and selected documents and reports. Subject, author, and keyword indexing is provided.

Other Government Sources

• Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov/). The Census Bureau website has demographic, geographic, business and other data. It also has US population projections, fact books, interactive maps and world statistics.
• CIA (http://www.cia.gov). This is the CIA home page. The site has several useful publications, including The World Fact Book, World Leaders and maps.
• Congress. See THOMAS below. You can also search for testimony and committee minutes and other information by searching for or \(<\) searchterm site: senate.gov \(>\).
• Congressional Research Service Reports. (http://www.loc.gov/crsinfo/). These are short reports created by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and the Library of Congress subject matter experts to update members of Congress on a wide range of topics. You can search for individual reports on this site or from a search engine. Search for \(<\) searchterm "Congressional Research Service" \(>\) to find CRS reports containing the searchterm. Add "site: state.gov" to search the wealth of CRS reports continually updated on the State Department website. Add "site: fas.org" to search the FAS library of CRS reports.
• Copyright Office (http://copyright.gov/). Copyright Office site includes handouts and research guides on copyright law and practice.
• Federal Digital System-GPO Access (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/). FDsys is the Government Printing Office’s Federal Digital System which provides public access to government publications.
• FEDSTATS (http://www.fedstats.gov/). Statistics from more than 100 government agencies.
• Government Accountability Office (GAO) (http://www.gao.gov/). The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Often called the "congressional watchdog," GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. Their unclassified reports on are on this website.
• Government Printing Office (GPO) (http://www.gpo.gov/). Includes the GPO bookstore.
• The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) (http://www.archives.gov/). An independent federal agency that preserves our nation’s history and defines us as a people by overseeing the management of all federal records. It includes the Federal Register, which has the official text of federal laws, presidential documents, administrative notices and more.
• National Technical Information Service (NTIS) (http://www.ntis.gov/). NTIS is the nation’s top resource for government reports and information.
• Office of Scientific & Technical Information (OSTI) (http://www.osti.gov/). OSTI collects, preserves and disseminates DOE-sponsored research and development (R&D) results that are the outcomes of \(\mathrm{R} \& \mathrm{D}\) projects or other funded activities at \(\mathrm{DOE}\) labs and facilities nationwide and grantees at universities and other institutions. The information is typically in the form of technical documents, conference papers, articles, multimedia and software, collectively referred to as scientific and technical information (STI).
• Open Source Center (OSC) (https://www.opensource.gov/). The OSC, formerly known as Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) is an electronic information service that collects and translates current political, economic, technical and military information from the media worldwide for the US government. Users must register and establish an account.
• Science.Gov (http://www.science.gov/). Science.gov searches over 50 databases and over 2,100 selected websites from 12 federal agencies, offering 200 million pages of authoritative US government science information including research and development results.
• Department of State (http://www.state.gov/). The Department of State site includes a wealth of information on countries, regions, treaties, international issues, aid for development, arms control and more.
• Thomas (http://thomas.loc.gov/). Library of Congress resource covering the legislative branch, laws, treaties, bills, reports, etc.
• USA.gov (http://www.usa.gov/). The US government’s official web portal.
• USA.gov Data and Statistics (http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Reference-Shelf/Data.shtml). Provides links to wide range of government sources of data and statistics, domestic and international.
• The White House (http://www.whitehouse.gov/). Provides the latest official presidential releases.
• World News Connection (WNC) (http://wnc.fedworld.gov/). Foreign news service provided by the NTIS using material provided by the OSC. It is a subscription service for use by personnel not eligible for an OSC account. It includes the portion of OSC news/articles for which copyright can be cleared.

Other Magazine and News Indexes

Some indexes listed below require a paid subscription. Contact your local or base library for free availability using their subscription.

• Access Science \({ }^{\mathrm{TM}}\) (http://www.accessscience.com/). Provides on-line access to the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, including 7,100+ articles, 115,000 dictionary terms and hundreds of Research Updates-in all areas of science and technology-updated daily, plus these great features: Over 2,000 in-depth biographies of leading scientists through history; weekly updates on breakthroughs and discoveries in the world of science and technology; resources to guide your research; and links to websites for further research. Copyrighted material requires a paid subscription.
• Air Force Times \({ }^{\mathrm{TM}}\) and related publications. Provides full-text access to Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and the Marine Corps Times and includes current issues and archives. Copyrighted material requires a paid subscription.
  • Army Times \({ }^{\mathrm{TM}}\) (http://www.armytimes.com/).
  • Air Force Times \({ }^{\mathrm{TM}}\) (http://www.airforcetimes.com/).
  • Navy Times \({ }^{\mathrm{TM}}\) (http://www.navytimes.com/).
  • Marine Corps Times \({ }^{\mathrm{TM}}\) (http://www.marinetimes.com/).
• Country Watch Country Review \({ }^{\mathrm{TM}}\) (http://www.countrywatch.com/). Provides the political, economic, corporate and environmental trends for each of the approximately 200 countries around the world. Copyrighted material requires a paid subscription.
• CQ Library, CQ Weekly \({ }^{\mathrm{TM}}\) (http://library.cqpress.com/cqweekly/). Congressional Quarterly’s magazine on government, commerce and politics.
• EBSCOhost® (http://search.ebscohost.com/). A web-based periodical index that provides abstracts and indexing for over 4,800 scholarly journals covering the social sciences, military science, humanities, education and more. Also included is the full text for over 1,000 journals-with many dating back to 1990 - and over 1,700 peer-reviewed journals. Copyright requires a paid subscription.
• Lexis-Nexis Academic® (http://www.lexisnexis.com/). Provides access to a wide range of full-text news, business info, legal cases, and world news about countries and research about public figures. Copyrighted material requires a paid subscription.
• NewsBank \({ }^{\mathrm{TM}}\) (http://infoweb.newsbank.com/). Provides news articles covering social, economic, environmental, government, sports, health, science and military issues and events from more than 500 US regional and national newspapers and wire services and 140 full-text general news, subject-specific and military magazines. Copyrighted material requires a paid subscription.
• ProQuest® (http://search.proquest.com/login). Magazine articles from 8,000+ publications. Copyrighted material requires a paid subscription.
• STRATFOR  \(^{\text {TM}\) (http://www.stratfor.com). Combines intelligence analysis and news }}\) archives on various countries. Copyrighted material requires a paid subscription.
• Wiley Interscience® (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/advanced/search). Provides the full text of over 300 leading scientific, technical, medical and professional journals. Copyrighted material requires a paid subscription required.

Graphics, Photos and Maps

Each military service home page has links to photos, videos, graphics, and/or artwork related to that particular service. The DoD home page also has links to photos and videos. Most search engines also have specialized searches for graphics, images and videos. Most special operators work in the image/video searches as well. For instance, \(<\mathrm{f}-16\) site: af.mil \(>\) in the Google \({ }^{\mathrm{TM}}\) image search will give you F-16 images from only Air Force web pages. Similarly, \(<\mathrm{f}-16\) filetype: gif \(>\) will give you only .gif images, excluding .jpg and other file types. Combining the operators \(<\mathrm{f}-16\) site: mil filetype: jpg \(>\) will give you only .jpg images from .mil web pages. Look at additional features of specialized search engines. At this time Google \({ }^{\mathrm{TM}}\) Image search offers you the choice of face, photo, clip art, or line drawing.

• AP Multimedia Archive (http://www.apimages.com/). An electronic library containing the AP’s current photos from their 50 million-image print and negative library, as well as charts, graphs, tables and maps from the AP’s graphics portfolio. Copyrighted material requires a paid subscription.
• defenseimagery.mil (http://DoDimagery.afis.osd.mil/). Contains official US Military images, both still and motion, from around the world. Provides oversight for the Joint Combat Camera Program. Individuals must register and establish an account.
• University Of Texas Map Database (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/). The PerryCastaneda Library Map Collection, at the University of Texas, has more than 250,000 maps. Many are online, organized by region, historical period, theme, or current event.

Other Sources

Some indexes listed below require a paid subscription. Contact your local or base library for free availability using their subscription.

• Britannica@ Online (http://www.britannica.com/). A full-text encyclopedia that is accessible via the Internet. It provides articles as well as related resources on the Internet. Copyrighted material requires a paid subscription.
• Columbia International Affairs@ Online (CIAO) (http://www.ciaonet.org/). A web-based database designed to be the most comprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs. It publishes a wide range of scholarship from 1991 on, which includes working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects and proceedings from conferences. Copyrighted material requires a paid subscription.
• Firstsearch \({ }^{\circledR}\) (http://www.oclc.org/firstsearch/). An electronic information service that is accessible over the Internet. This service provides access to over 70 databases on a wide variety of local and global subjects. Copyrighted material requires a paid subscription.
• Infotrac \({ }^{T M}\) (http://infotrac.galegroup.com). An electronic information service that is accessible over the Internet, providing access to Cengage Learning databases. This education related service may require a paid subscription, depending on your institution.
• Jane’s Online (http://www.janes.com/). Provides access to select Jane’s resources. Copyrighted material requires a paid subscription.
• ProQuest \(\mathrm{R}\) Congressional Universe (http://congressional.proquest.com/congressional). Provides access to a wealth of congressional publications such as hearings, reports, bills, laws, regulations, and CIS Legislative Histories. This site also allows you to locate specific information about members and committees. Copyrighted material requires a paid subscription.
• PERISCOPE (http://www.militaryperiscope.com/). Provides open-source intelligence on orders of battle, equipment inventories, and procurement plans and programs for 165 nations. It also provides technical descriptions and characteristics for nearly every major weapon system and platform. Copyrighted material requires a paid subscription.
• RAND (http://www.rand.org/). The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decision making through research and analysis. Its website includes reports on many military and security issues, as well as other issues of concern to lawmakers and decision makers.
• REFDESK (http://www.refdesk.com/). REFDESK is a large compilation of news, almanacs, encyclopedias, magazine articles, commentaries and other daily sampling of US and worldwide information sources.
• First Things First (http://www.refdesk.com/first.html) is a list of newspapers, online magazines and specialty news.

Copyrights

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): There are many misconceptions about copyrights, especially with the ability to cut and paste or transfer whole files electronically. Remember, copyrights protect the intellectual property of others; violating copyrights and passing the work off as your original work is plagiarism-distributing copyrighted materials without permission is criminal.

Consider the satirical comment by Wilson Mizner, an American playwright from the late 1800s, who once said, "Copy from one, it’s plagiarism; copy from many, it’s research." Sorry, but Wilson is wrong-it’s still plagiarism no matter how many times you copy material or paraphrase it without proper citation or attribution. The Copyright Office (http://copyright.gov/) website includes handouts and research guides on copyright law and practice. The following searches give a wealth of tips and handouts on copyright and researching.

"copyright for researchers site:edu" or "copyright for researchers site:gov"

If you search for documents, images and other material using the site: gov or site: mil operators, you’ll be most likely to find copyright unencumbered material. But you still need to verify the copyright ownership and rules for usage.

Social Media and Networks

There are many brand name social media sites along with personal or professional blogs and discussion groups or networks that are increasingly the predominant form of information sharing. Many times they offer you the chance to meet online with subject matter experts who have ideas and facts to offer your research. Just remember to verify their identities and qualifications. In addition, many of the social media sites are now searchable using search engines. But before you venture out there too far, or set up your own social network, please do the following searches and read some of the existing guides. Your safety and security could be at risk.

Internet safety site: gov; social networking safety site: gov social media guidelines site: mil; preventing online identity theft site: gov

Most government and military websites now include links to their social media sites You need to strike a careful balance between risk and communication openness. Many browsers now have "privacy" or "stealth" modes, which allow you to limit your exposure to information mining by sites you visit.

Other Help and Tips

• Web pages or sites vanishing. This frequently happens, which is why we suggest you save web pages you paraphrase, quote from, or use for ideas.
• Google \({ }^{\mathrm{TM}}\) cache can be searched using the cache: URL tool, such as "cache: cia.gov"
• The Wayback Machine (http://www.archive.org/) has selected web pages after \(1996 .\)
• If any of the URLs in this chapter fail to work, just use the name of the site or document as a search term in a search engine. Search engines are continually re-indexing the Internet and therefore can usually find documents and pages when they are moved.
• If you want to be continually updated on a topic, try signing up for topic-specific alerts and RSS feeds and other updating services available from many websites. Notices of updates can be sent directly to your phone, computer, tablet, or other device.
• Search for tools relating to the "invisible web"-the portion of the Internet which search engines can’t find. For example, a database that assembles results pages only after you enter a specific search. Regular searches may find the link to the database, but you may be able to examine the contents of the database only through using its interface directly.

SUMMARY: When you’re trying to inform or persuade others, you need to do some researchthere is no substitute for good research. Use the Internet, library, your office files, and your coworkers to get the best information possible and be sure to critically evaluate your sources. With good research, you will find more than you need. Carefully select what is important to advance your argument and you will find that research is enjoyable and rewarding. Stay focused on your purpose and you can stay on schedule.