Download Finding Information on the World Wide Web

Finding Information on the World Wide Web
The Internet is a worldwide network of computers. The World Wide Web uses
Hypertext links to allow users to connect to information located anywhere in the
world.
Tips for Using Information on the Web:
 To find information when you already have the address, or URL, just type it
EXACTLY into the Netsite or Location box at the top of your browser:
1. Use search engines and directories to help you find information on a general
subject.
 Directories: Yahoo, The Open Directory, About.com and Looksmart are some
examples. They have people that put each web link submitted into
categories and sub-categories to better help you find what you want. Try
these first.
 Search Engines: Alta Vista and Google are just two examples. They us
"robots" to search the web to find web sites that match the key words you
type in. They'll usually retrieve more web sites, but they might not be
exactly what you're looking for.
 Meta Search Engines: Search more than one engine at a time. Metacrawler
and Dogpile are two examples.
 Search Tips:
 Put phrases in quotes: "infectious disease"
 If the site supports Boolean (AND, OR, NOT) searches, use them!
 Use + sign to indicate terms which must be included in the results
Eg: +nursing +crosscultural
 Use – sign to indicate terms which should be excluded:
+dolphins -football
 Use a site’s help feature to explain the rules for searching. More tips:
Search Engine Watch (http://www.searchenginewatch.com), Search
Engine Showdown (http://www.searchengineshowdown.com)
2. How can you tell if the information is good? Ask these questions:
 Is the site’s content relevant to your need?
 How current is the information? When was the site created/updated?
 Who created the site? Is this an expert in the field or not?
 Is it accurate? Does it tell you where facts/statistics came from? Are
there typos?
 What’s the point of view? What are they trying to sell?
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Updated 5/7/2017