Does this thing work?

All Things Google

Google, the mother of all Internet search engines, seems to introduce a new feature every week.

In addition to the traditional search, Google also offers a number of advanced search capabilities:
Google
Google News
Google Images
Google Usenet Newsgroups

Search the complete text of many books at Google Print.

Looking for peer-reviewed literature? Find scholarly articles with Google Scholar.

On the other end of the credibility spectrum, if you want to know what the bloggers are talking about Google Blog Search has you covered.

Be notified when someone or something makes the news or the Web by setting a Google Alert.

Only want results from a specific geographic area? Try Google Local Search.

Need to make simple calculations or conversions? Use Google's intuitive calculator feature. To find the number of meters in a mile, for example, simply enter "meters in a mile" in any Google search bar. (The answer is 1,609.344, by the way.) More information on Google Calculator can be found here and here.

For Mozilla Firefox users, a very handy Google search bar extension is available for download.

For a more complete listing of Google's features and capabilities, check out this page.

Even more tips, tricks and "secrets" of Google abound on Googleguide.com

And as if all this isn't enough, you can keep track of and try all the latest Google tools, toys and technology at Google Labs.

Even More Things Google

By giving Google a graphical interface, Soople makes searching even easier.

Soople's take on Google Calculator is particularly handy.

One-stop link source

Christopher Callahan, dean of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, has a useful compilation of links on a wide variety of topics at A Journalist's Guide to the Internet.

For journalists, by journalists

Poynter Online offers many resources for journalists, including Jim Romenesko's blog.

In addition, the Columbia Journalism Review, Editor & Publisher, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting and Media Matters feature news, links, analysis and criticism of interest to journalists.

CJR also provides an enlightening list of "who owns what" in the media world.

The Journalist's Toolbox

The American Press Institute provides a frequently updated page with helpful links for journalists here.

The paper trail

Track down newspapers from around the country on the website of the American Journalism Review.

For the more graphically minded, front pages of hundreds of papers are available daily via Newseum.

C-SPAN: If only people watched.

In addition to providing streaming video of the happenings on Capitol Hill, C-SPAN.org offers a plethora of information on local, state and federal governments.

Find your representatives' contact information, search for Congressional vote results, learn all you ever wanted to know about the Executive Branch, and much more.

Got crime?

Get official statistics on crime from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports or the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Freedom of Information Act Requests Made Easy

Find in-depth information on FOIA here.

When you know what you need, use a FOIA letter generator from The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press or The Student Press Law Center.

Who needs lawyers?

Do your own legal research on-line.

Both the U.S. Code and the Illinois Compiled Statutes are available for free, while case law can be accessed by subscribers (and SIU students) at Lexis/Nexis.

Basic legal information is also available on FindLaw.

Another reason to avoid arrest in Jackson County

Find Jackson County court records here.

Records from other Illinois counties are also available.

Follow the Money

Find out who contributed to candidates for federal office at the Center for Responsive Politics's website, Open Secrets.

Information for Illinois elections is available from the Board of Elections.

On a related note, information on Washington lobbyists is also available at Open Secrets.

Follow the money, Part II

Find information on Illinois corporations at the Secretary of State's site.

Polls galore

Explore public sentiment on Pollingreport.com or via a search of the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research's database (via Lexis/Nexis, subscription-restricted).

Numbers, numbers, numbers

There are 297,388,483 people in the U.S.

Learn all about them at the U.S. Census Bureau's website.

Fedstats.gov also features statistics from across the Federal Government.

Phone it in

Need to find a phone number or address? Use reversephonedirectory.com or one of the many directories listed here by the University of Texas at Austin's library.

If you don't recognize a number's prefix or area code, you can find out where it's located and whether it's a land-line or cell phone here.

Find ZIP codes and determine whether addresses are legitimate at the U.S. Postal Service website.

Lost?

Find yourself using these on-line map services:
MapQuest
Google Maps (also featuring satellite/hybrid maps)
Yahoo Maps

Google also offers the downloadable Google Earth, which allows you to view high-quality satellite images of the entire planet (high-speed connection required).

Lexis/Nexis

The powerful Lexis/Nexis research tool features invaluable scholarly, news and legal search capabilities, in addition to government records, medical information, and other services (SIU ID# required).

Wikimania

Need basic information on... well, anything?

Check out the user-written and edited Wikipedia, with its more than 750,000 articles. It even has an entry on "Kodee Kennings."

No hablo anything but English?

Translate text or webpages at Babelfish or via Soople's graphical interface of Google's translation feature.

Say what?

Unable to keep up with the latest slang, webspeak and jargon? Urban Dictionary can help.

A more conventional dictionary is available from Merriam-Webster.

If it seems too good to be true...

Come across a questionable story or photo on the Web? Chances are the people at Snopes have investigated it.

(For the record, this photo has been debunked)