Library

Internet Searching Techniques

There are several steps needed in any search to ensure that you find the best information.

Planning your Search
Decide what you need and know which Search Engines to Use.

Locating possible resources
How to read the Hit List and choose the most useful web pages.

Using the information you find
How to evaluate your information and separate the Best from the Rest!

Self evaluating your search
Take a minute to look back and learn from your experience.

Planning your Search

What do I need?

• Be very specific! There is a great deal of information out there...avoid becoming sidetracked by knowing exactly what you are looking for.
• Before you go online, make a list of possible questions to ask, subject headings and search terms to use.
• As you work online you may alter or add to your search terms. For this reason it is a good idea to keep a working search diary. In this way you will save needless backtracking if you have to conduct your search over several sessions online.

Tips on Search Strategies:

When you search the Internet you may need to search in several different ways to find what you need.

For example: you need to find out the possible causes of volcanoes.

Broad topic: volcanoes
Specific part of topic: causes of
Where (is location important?): anywhere
When: if the most recent is an important criteria you need to state that as <recent>
Level: adding the term ‘high school’ or ‘college’ may result in resources more suitable for your level)
Special features: (state if you need ‘pictures’, ‘tables’‘personal accounts’ etc)

Once you have defined exactly what you need, you will use those elements differently depending on which search tool you use:

For Google:
click on ADVANCED GOOGLE and add in your search terms.

For a Gateway or Virtual Library:
You may need to enter a broader term such as Geography first, then volcanoes.

Ask Jeeves will allow you to use normal word order so you could put in
<find information on the causes of volcanoes suitable for high school students>

Where should I search?

Before you go online, work out a search strategy. What type of sites are you going to try ? Does the Library subscribe to any online databases which might be useful ? Remember quality information often must be paid for...one of the services the RGS Library provides for you is access to subscription databases.

Virtual Libraries and Gateways

These sites are lists of quality web sites selected by specialists and grouped together by subject topics. They are essentially recommended reading lists on general topics created by people rather than by machines. You can be reasonably assured of finding good quality information from web sites listed on these pages. However, as compiling such lists is very time consuming they are not as comprehensive as machine generated searches. Remember to start with general topic headings first when submitting search terms. Virtual libraries and gateways are the best place to look for quality information.

Examples:

BUBL (BUBL is an Internet-based information gateway for the UK higher education community)
The Librarians Index to the Internet (a site produced by the University of California at Berkeley. Excellent gateway!)

Locating Possible Resources

Read the list of 'Hits' carefully

• Try to find out as much as you can about the sites from the URL and description of the site.
• Who operates the server which stores the site (i.e. the sponsor of the pages)?
• Do you recognize the sponsor of the site as a reputable source of information ? (e.g. Reuters news agency, BBC, NASA)
• HINT: Learn to read URL's carefully. Many people have been fooled by the URL 'NASA.com' which is a link to a company cashing in on the popularity of the official 'NASA.gov ' site
• You may wish to print out your Hit List and mark the sites you wish to look at more carefully. This will save time if you find your search takes place over several online sessions.

Evaluate each site carefully! Skim each site looking for answers to the following questions:

• Is there a date of publication?
• Does the author's name appear on the site and is there an email address where you can contact the author?
• Is there any information about the authority of the author, or the sponsor of the page which tells you that the information could be considered reliable? What is the relationship between the author and the sponsor? Is the author merely using space on the company server for his own pages or does the company accept responsibility for the information?
• Is the author or the sponsoring body a recognized authority on the subject? Are you aware of any bias which the author or sponsor might have, e.g. political or philosophical agenda, any commercial intent? In other words, WHY WAS THIS PAGE PRODUCED?
• Who is the intended audience? Is it written at a level that you can understand and that will be useful for your purpose?
• Is the site indexed to enable you to find what you need easily and quickly? Is the site 'user-friendly' and easy to read?
• Does the site provide information which could more easily be obtained using locally held resources? (e.g. encyclopedia articles are easily found in the Library's collection)
• Are there links to other sources of information on the topic? This can help you to assess the expertise of the author as well as lead to other resources.
• If you found this site by a link from another site or from the recommendation of someone else, are they sites or people whose expertise you can trust?
• If you want to find out more about the site and who sponsors it, go into All the Web and type in the website address in the search window. This will provide you with options to see external links into a site, external pages indexed at the site, information about who owns the site, and links to previous versions of the site.

Before you accept any information from the Internet you should be able to verify it with a second source. There are no controls over the accuracy or bias of material published on the Internet ....BEWARE!

When you find resources that you think might be useful, put together a list of bookmarks online using social bookmarking tools such as de.licio.us (http://del.icio.us/) so that you can easily access them again.  Or create a mini-search engine of your resources by using www.rollyo.com.

Using The Information You Find

Once you have a shortlist of sites you think are the most relevant and the most reliable, you will need to think about how to use the information you have found. You will need to consider:

• Can you take notes from the screen or will you need to print out a copy of the relevant pages? Remember to note down ONLY those ideas which are new to you and relevant to your specific task. Don't print out reams of text when all you really need is to jot down a few ideas. The best way is really to take notes in your own words as the process of writing them ensures you understand what you have read. A useful format is a spider diagram for small scale projects or note cards for larger projects. You might also consider collecting ideas electronically as bullet points in a notepad file.

Remember you will need to cite the source of any information you find. Make a note of the URL, author, title, and date of publication of any site you use to obtain information.The Library has created a sheet outlining the correct bibliographic form for all types of resources...ask one of the librarians for a copy.

Self Evaluating Your Search

Learn from your online experiences

Internet searching like any other skill improves with practice. It is important to know when and how to use the Internet most effectively to save yourself time and effort in the future.

Look back at your search diary and assess the value of your search

• Did you use the correct search terms and the best type of search tool to find the information you needed?
• Was the Internet the best resource to use to find this information or could you have found it more quickly or easily using locally held resources?
• Do you think the information you found was biased or inaccurate in any way? Do you need to verify any of the information before using?
• What mistakes do you think you made in your search? How could you improve your searching in the future?