Internet Search Strategies

 

 

 

Domain Names

What do the URL (website address) endings mean? These are part of the domain name, which identifies one or more IP addresses. For example, the domain name microsoft.com represents about a dozen IP addresses. These domain names are used in URLs to identify particular Web pages and locates an organization or other entity on the Internet. The "com" part of the Microsoft domain name reflects the purpose of the organization or entity (in this example, "commercial") and is called the top-level domain name. 

 

The following would be the most common top-level domain names:

 

Now try to find one of the following on the Internet by guessing at the URL:

  

American Cancer Society                   Time (Magazine)                                    Harvard University            

U.S. Senate                                                 Central Intelligence Agency                  CNN                     

Goodwill                                               Toledo Blade                                         The FBI   

Cornell University                                 The Humane Society                             USA Today    

 

 

 

Internet Search Engines

One way of finding information on the Internet is to use a "search engine". This is an Internet tool which will search for Internet sites containing the words that you designate as a search term. It provides results back to you in the form of links to those sites which have the terms you're looking for. However, searching the web can be a tricky business. Most of the time you will retrieve thousands of pages, but few will be useful. Hopefully, with some knowledge of the more basic Internet search strategies- you will find information that matches your needs.

 

 

Keyword Searching and Boolean Operators (PowerPoint)

 

Now try your new found knowledge in your own search on the Internet! 

Remember, try using such strategies as:

Adding Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT)

Example: Cats AND feline   (Or try regular search versus using Advanced search feature)

Using quotation mark for phrases, names, etc.

Example: Search Civil war and unequal distribution of resources versus Civil war and “unequal distribution of resources”

Using the wildcard features (*)

Example: gene* AND scientists AND biography

 

Hint: This website offers some great information through its FAQ in regards to searching the Internet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evaluating Web Sites 

 

There is a lot of information on the Internet, but you need to develop skills to evaluate online sources to become a savvy information consumer. 

Here are some of the criteria that you should use to evaluate websites that you find:

 

graphic representation of key ideasPurpose: Determine whether the main purpose of the site is to inform or to persuade (advocate for a cause.) 

Shotgun’s Home of the American Civil War   http://www.civilwarhome.com/

Look under Website Bibliography.

Author: Those who have appropriate education, training, or experience to write with authority on the topic produce 

the best sites. Check site documents or external sources to find out more about the author.

The American Civil War Home Page   http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/warweb.html

Bottom of page under author’s name- Education info.

Coverage: Shop around for the best source. You can compare the page to others on the same topic to see which 

provides better coverage.

Kid Info- Civil War   http://www.kidinfo.com/American_History/Civil_War.html

Very extensive amount of information. Back up address to home page to find author info.

Currency: If you are looking for the most current information on a topic, be sure to determine when information was added.

The American Civil War Home Page   http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/warweb.html

Last updated

Recognition: Try to determine whether the site has been recognized as exemplary, either in reviews or by others linking to it. 

The American Civil War- Dakota State University   http://homepages.dsu.edu/jankej/civilwar/civilwar.htm 

Awards Link on page

Content: Consider whether content seems biased. Does the author have a "vested interest" in the topic? Look 

for documentation of claims and a balanced point of view.  One way to validate Internet information is by examining a web

 site's external links. (Be sure to leave no space before or after the colon).

 Link command  Alta Vista  link:http://www.genoaschools.com

Try this website: http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/   Looks legitimate and very professional, right? Wrong! There is no such thing as a tree octopus.

This website's author implied that the Holocaust never happened! Looks legitimate since it is from an educational institution The ~ indicates a personal page, even if the address denotes a larger institution., and thus usually contains personal opinions    http://pubweb.northwestern.edu/~abutz/di/intro.html

 

 

Internet Subject Directories

Subject directories organize Internet sites by subject, allowing users to choose a subject of interest and then browse the list of resources in that category. Users conduct their searches by selecting a series of progressively more narrow search terms from a number of lists of descriptors provided in the directory. In this fashion, users "tunnel" their way through progressively more specific layers of descriptors until they reach a list of resources which meet all of the descriptors they had chosen.

A list of the more popular search directories is available on my web page by following the link for Virtual Reference on the Web

 

Now choose one of the Internet Search Directories, and see what types of information it offers.

 

 

 

The "Gated Internet" or Invisible Web

Did you ever wonder what people are talking about when they mention the invisible web? Well, the “visible” web is what you and I see when we do a search on a general search engine like Yahoo or Google. The “invisible” web is what  we cannot retrieve or see through those general search engines. These are searchable databases and excluded pages that, for whatever reason, are not submitted to general search engines. Would you be surprised to learn that some of THE best resources are only available through the invisible web?

Subscription databases in particular are quality reference and research tools. Did you know that you have a large number of subscription databases available to you just because you are a citizen of the state of Ohio? For our students, these are made available through INFOhio. For college students, these are made available through OhioLINK. For adults,  these are made available through OPLIN (The Ohio Public Library Information Network). Now we are going to take a look at some of these resources!

Hint: You can practice some of the Internet search strategies that you have learned in these subscription databases.

 

INFOhio

http://www.infohio.org   Go to the appropriate grade level and select your database.

 

Ohio Public Library Information Network

http://www.oplin.org    Go to ‘Research Databases’ on the left-hand side of the page. A direct link to these databases can be reached at http://www.oplin.org/databases/

 

The following are additional services of the State Library of Ohio and your public library:

·   KnowItNow   http://www.knowitnow.org/

·   ReadThisNow    http://www.readthisnow.org/

·   Homework Now   http://www.homeworknow.org/

 

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