Tips to Conducting Good Internet Research
Internet search engines are how we find most things online.
The challenge is to ask the right question the so you don’t get too many, too few, or no materials. As with most skills, practice makes perfect!
Before doing a search, it’s important to define your topic as completely and succinctly as possible.This will help you to discover the best keywords for your search. Write down
When trying to search for information on the internet, keep the following tips in mind:
The challenge is to ask the right question the so you don’t get too many, too few, or no materials. As with most skills, practice makes perfect!
Before doing a search, it’s important to define your topic as completely and succinctly as possible.This will help you to discover the best keywords for your search. Write down
- what information you’re looking for
- what you’re not looking for
When trying to search for information on the internet, keep the following tips in mind:
- Use keywords only. Search engines look for the key words in your query in the websites they search. In other words, you’re not asking a search engine a question, you’re asking it to look for websites where those words appear.
EXAMPLE: Oyama orchards - Use the plus (+) and minus (-) signs in front of words to force their inclusion and/or exclusion in searches.
- Use double quotation marks (" ") around phrases to ensure they are searched exactly as is, with the words side by side in the same order.
- Type keywords and phrases in lower case to find both lower and upper case versions. Typing capital letters will usually return only an exact match.
EXAMPLE: president retrieves both president and President
How Good is that Website?
On the internet, anyone can publish a website... and many do! Don't accept everything you read just because it's printed online. Websites are rarely reviewed or checked for accuracy. Here are some things you should look for (With modification, information retrieved from: https://www.ivcc.edu/stylebooks/stylebook6.aspx?id=14724)
Home page
Always look at the home page, or main page, of any Web site. Look for a link that says "home" or enter the Web address only through the domain name.
Author
Look for who the author is and what you can find out about that person or organization.
Advertisements
Does the web page advertise for something? If so, are the ads related to the topic? This could be a red flag!
Sponsor
Look for who owns the site. Is it a reputable group or organization? If so, that is a good sign, even if no individual author is listed. If you cannot tell what group or individual developed the site, think twice before using the source.
Page Linkages
Who is linking to the page, and what links to other pages does the page itself maintain?
Date
Is the information current? For many disciplines, the currency of information is vital.
Documentation
Does the source tell readers where its facts are from?
Type of Site
Determine the type of site you are considering.
Home page
Always look at the home page, or main page, of any Web site. Look for a link that says "home" or enter the Web address only through the domain name.
Author
Look for who the author is and what you can find out about that person or organization.
- What are the author's qualifications?
- If there is no author, think twice before using the source.
Advertisements
Does the web page advertise for something? If so, are the ads related to the topic? This could be a red flag!
Sponsor
Look for who owns the site. Is it a reputable group or organization? If so, that is a good sign, even if no individual author is listed. If you cannot tell what group or individual developed the site, think twice before using the source.
Page Linkages
Who is linking to the page, and what links to other pages does the page itself maintain?
Date
Is the information current? For many disciplines, the currency of information is vital.
Documentation
Does the source tell readers where its facts are from?
- If the source mentions many details or statistics with no documentation, be wary.
Type of Site
Determine the type of site you are considering.
- Is it a database or other site recommended by the school library?
- Is this a blog or homepage owned by an individual person? If so, you want to avoid it unless you can verify the person's credentials.
- Is it a wiki? A wiki is a Web site where any user can modify the information, and thus there is no way to verify authorship.
- Examples of wikis include Wikipedia, Wiktionary, and Wikiquotes.
- These sources may provide a general overview or lead to more credible sources, but avoid using them in an essay.
- Is it an online periodical or online version of a print publication? Examples of online periodicals include Slate.com, Salon.com, and Wired.com, and examples of print publications on the Web include Nytimes.com and Newsweek.com.
- If you are using a periodical on the Web, you can feel more secure.