Internet searching is useful for finding information such as:
a specific fact, current event, person, web site.
an obscure topic.
topical exploration, especially if using a search engine with clustered results.
geographic or government information.
Use a combination of browsing and searching after you have searched for books and periodicals in the library so you will be able to recognize keywords and people. Use LC Subject Heading books for a vocabulary list. Start the search broad then refine the focus following the possibilities presented by the search.
Search by key words using Google or AltaVista. Search "exact phrase" using double quotes. Good search engines list the results in relevant order with a summary and the URL. Advanced searching allows Boolean searching of OR (broadens) AND (narrows) NOT (further narrows); or provides search limits by domain, date, or file type (pdf, word, ppt). Metasearch engines such as Dogpile.com or alltheweb.com search across many engines in one search.
Clusty.com and iboogie.tv are search engines that group search results into topic clusters. Differnet search terms are needed if too many clusters are irrelevant. Clustering is useful for:
in-depth research on a complex topic
researching an unfamiliar topic
identifying concepts, issues and sites relevant to a topic
working with topical results rather than one long list
The Quality and accuracy of the Internet is not regulated. View the web page as you would an infomercial. To evaluate the value of a source:
- Note the purpose of the web site by its domain: .com=commercial, .biz=business, net=network (edu, org, gov is preferred).
- Look for credentials or qualifications of the source on the home page.
- Evaluate the web information against your previous library research.
- Check currency by noting the posting date or dead links.
Cite Internet sources according to your assigned style manual, noting:
- The author's name (if known)
- The full title of the document
- The title of the complete work if applicable
- The date of publication or last revision
- The full http address (URL)
- Date of visit
Ex: Smith, John P. "A Look at Words." Time. 1996.http://www.fakeit.com/source.html (12 July 1996).
For additional help: Internet Tutorial http://www.internettutorials.net