In an effort to promote computer literacy among advertising students, an assignment was devised that required the use of online database search techniques to find secondary research materials. The search program, chosen for economical reasons, was "Classroom Instruction Program" offered by Dialog Information Services. Available for a charge of $14 per hour, the program provides students with access to over 100 different databases. For the assignment, students were asked to prepare search objectives for any advertising-related topic of their choice. Once the students completed their search objectives and a command outline, they were given a very basic search to be typed into the terminal. This basic search provided a vehicle through which students could evaluate their understanding of the search program before searching. After completing the rote assignment, students made their own bibliographic search. To reduce the telephone connect time, several constraints were included, among them the following: (1) students were assigned to work in teams of 3 to 5 individuals; (2) the number of bibliographic references typed was minimized; and (3) search setups were graded and corrected before signing on the computer. Instructor preparation was provided by the database vendors and Dialog. Especially useful were their training seminar manuals. Initial evaluations of the assignment showed the only deficiency to be too few searches. (HOD)