How do I search the Internet?
- Narrow your topic and its description; pull out key words and
categories
- Use a search engine: does it contain a directory of topics?
Find the best combination of key words to locate information you need;
Enter these in the search engine
- Get assistance from your local research librarian
- Refer to known, recommended, expert, or reviewed web sites
- Refer to professional portals
that may have directories or collections by topic
- Review the number of options returned.
If there are too many web sites, add more keywords.
If there are too few options, narrow/delete some keywords,
or substitute other key words
- Review the first pages returned:
If these are not helpful, review your key words for a better description
- Use advanced search options in search engines:
Search options include
- Key word combinations, including boolean strings
- Locations where key words are found
For example: in the title, 1st paragraphs, coded metadata
- Languages to search in
- Sites containing media files (images, videos, MP3/music, ActiveX,
JAVA, etc.)
- Dates web sites were created or updated
- Research using several search engines
Each search engine has a different database of web sites it searches
Some "Meta-Search" engines actually search other search engines!
If one search engine returns few web sites, another may return many!
- Evaluate the content of the web sites you've found:
Refer to the Study Guide "Evaluating web site
content"
- Track your search:
List resources you checked; the date your checked them
Identify the resource, especially its location and the date you found it
- When printing, set your options to print the
Title of the page | the Web address | the date printed
What are some resources?
- Search engines
Search Engine
Colossus has links to search engines from 148 countries
- Directories that organize information and links
Open Directory Project;
Librarians Index to the Internet;
Infomine
- Web sites devoted to particular topics, including text, graphics,
movies, music files
Internet Directory for
Botany
- Government documents, forms, laws, policies, etc.
U.S. Government
Printing Office disseminates official information from all three branches
of the United States Federal Government
- Services and information by
non-profit organizations and by for-profit businesses
- LISTSERVs or discussion groups
See
L-Soft
"the official catalog of LISTSERV® lists"
- Resources at your local (public) library
These may require membership or registration
- Newspaper, journal, magazine databases
Often restricted to subscribers, require registration, or can be fee-based for
access
International conventions of copyright govern the use and
reproduction of all material: all information should be properly cited
Website overview: Since 1996 the
Study Guides and Strategies web site
has been researched, authored, maintained and supported by
Joe Landsberger
as an international, learner-centric, educational public service. Permission is granted to freely copy, adapt,
and distribute individual Study Guides in print format in non-commercial educational settings that benefit learners. Please be aware that the Guides welcome, and are under, continuous review and revision. For that reason, reproduction of all content on the Internet
can only be with permission through a licensed
agreement. No request to link to the Web site is necessary.
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