Web Searching
While searching the World Wide Web is probably familiar to you, in an academic setting, what you need to look for is different.
For basic searching, we use Google, but you can use any search engines.
Search exapmple: "global warming"
How many did you find? Millions!! (too many results is not a good thing!)
It can be helpful to go to the advanced search option in whatever search tool you use.
Advanced Search gives you more options for your search. Remember the Boolean connectors AND/OR? If you do the search below in Google, it won’t like it, but you can do this in Google’s Advanced Search mode:
global warming and (cause* or reason)
Google’s Advanced Search also offers a variety of limits.
It’s also very helpful for you is to look at the domain of a website.
server – computer’s name where the website resides
domain - where the information comes from (important!)
.com (commercial) .net (network) .fm (radio stations)
.edu (educational) .mil (military) .tv (tv stations)
.gov (government) .org (non-profit organizations)
.fr (France) .ca (Canada) .ec (Ecuador) .kr (Korea)
In Advanced Search, you can limit your search to one domain or exclude a domain from your search.
This will still find a lot of information, but it’s generally better.
For another approach, you might want to look at a subject directory/search engine such as the Librarians Index to the Internet http://lii.org
Search lii.org for "global warming" and you find fewer websites but usually much better information.
Remember that with databases & catalogs, we focused on subjects and how useful they are. Most Internet search engines don’t use subject headings, but lii.org does.
You can see this in the directory structure of lii.org, where information is grouped/organized by topic (see sidebar on search results)
Sites on lii.org are individually selected by librarians or other experts – they have been chosen as good resources. There are fewer results, but better.
Another important part of using information from the Internet for academic purposes is being able to identify the various parts of a website. This is also helpful when you cite a website in a bibliography.
Google search: “sustainable agriculture”
Title of the website: What is Sustainable Agriculture?
Article title: may be same as Website Title, or a smaller sub-section of the site
Author/Sponsoring organization: University of California, Davis
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program
(UCSAREP)
Contact information: see link @ bottom & top of page
(email, phone #s)
Date of last update/Copyright date: 2006 (see “copyright notice”@ bottom of page)
Another Google search: “british royalty”
Web Evaluation
You can see how it’s more difficult to locate information like titles, authors, dates for websites – there are no standards like for these like there are for books and articles.
But if you use Internet sources for college projects, like books and articles, you need to provide your reader with as much information as possible about the websites you use, just like for articles and books.
The other tricky thing about using Internet sources is that you also have to judge the content of the site. Since there is usually no editor or other person to say whether the information in a website is accurate, good or true, you are in the position of having to decide if a website is credible and useful for your research purposes.
Let’s review some criteria or things to look for when evaluating information on the Internet.
Author/Authority – credentials, sponsor?
Currency – when written/updated?
Accuracy – free from errors, are the details correct?
Point of view/Bias – is information objective or subjective?
Audience – who is it intended for?
Argument – is there information to support your argument?
Conclusion – overall, do you trust this site?
Now look over the website itself!
Look at the URL:
Is it someone’s personal page? (~name)
What’s the domain?
Who “publishes” or hosts the page? (server)
Scan the page perimeter:
Who wrote it? Author/Organization name
Author credentials
Organization’s mission/Philosophy
Is there a date/ is it current enough?
Indicators of quality:
Are sources documented with footnotes or links?
If info is reproduced, is it complete? (not faked, altered)
Are there links to other info sources?
Why is this page/site on the web?
What is its purpose? Informational (unbiased?), educational, humor, parody, commercial, entertainment
Is the information well-organized?
Easily navigated?
Visually pleasing?
Is there advertising?
TWO sites – One must have a .edu domain
No .com or Wikipedia sites
Search with Google and apply evaluation criteria
Part 1. List your research topic
Find 2 websites on your topic
Include as much information as possible
Check with us about article/website title, author/organization, etc.
Part 2A. One typed paragraph about why you chose these sites – how will they be useful for your presentation. Include evaluation criteria on page 1.
2B. Type citations using MLA Style for your two websites.
(example on assignment shows format and required elements)
Author. “Article title.” Title of Website. Date (last update or copyright.) Name of Sponsoring Organization.
Date of Access <URL>.
Example:
“The Incarceration Years.” The Japanese-American Legacy Project. 2002-2004. Densho Organization.
27 Nov. 2007. <http://www.densho.org/learning/default.asp>.
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