Internet Searching Helpful Hints

Different searches need different tools. Here are some suggestions for what to use when:

Search Engines

Best for specific facts, information on a person, etc.

• A search engine is an Internet tool that locates web pages and sorts them according to specified keywords.
• Built by computer robot programs (“spiders”) – not by human selection
• Not organized by subject categories; all pages are ranked by a computer algorithm
• ***Remember that there are search engines besides Google:
  • Yahoo, Alta Vista, Ask.com
  • Dogpile will search through several search engines at once
• Google - Usually the first place you will choose to go…BUT beware!
  • Google doesn't search the whole Internet, it searches only the "surface web."
  • It is estimated that only 7% of the information on the surface web is appropriate for educational or scholarly purposes.
  • Google's database includes approximately 16% of the sites on the surface web.
  • If you love Google, try new Google Scholar, which limits its results to "scholarly literature such as peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts, and technical reports," according to a company statement.

Subject Directories

These are manually selected web pages, usually annotated and classified by subject. A FIRST choice for most research.

• Built by human selection -- not by computers or robot programs
• Organized into subject categories, classification of pages by subjects
• Don't contain full-text of the web pages they link to -- you can only search what you can see (titles, descriptions, subject categories, etc.) -- use broad or general terms
• ***Librarians' Internet Index
• Superbly annotated and excellent selection of websites on a wide variety of topics.
• Google Directory
• Yahoo Directory
• The biggest subject directory, but doesn't evaluate the sites.

How to Evaluate Sources

Many websites exist simply to get you to buy into their point of view and disseminate inaccurate information. It is up to you as the user to determine the quality of the information. In determining the quality of the information, follow these guidelines:

Authority

• Who are the authors? Are they qualified? Are they credible?
• With whom are they affiliated? Do their affiliations affect their credibility?
• Who is the publisher? What is the publisher's reputation?

Accuracy

• Is the information accurate? Is it reliable and error-free?
• Are the interpretations and implications reasonable?
• Is there evidence to support conclusions? Is the evidence verifiable?
• Do the authors properly list their sources, references or citations with dates, page numbers or web addresses, etc.?

Objectivity

• What is the purpose? What do the authors want to accomplish?
• Does this purpose affect the presentation?
• Is there an implicit or explicit bias?
• Is the information fact, opinion, spoof, or satirical?

Currency

• Is the information current? Is it still valid?
• When was the site last updated?
• Is the site well-maintained? Are there any broken links?

Coverage

• Is the information relevant to your topic and assignment?
• What is the intended audience?
• Is the material presented at an appropriate level?
• Is the information complete? Is it unique?