Download Finding Information on the Internet

Finding Information on the Internet
URLs
The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the Internet address of a file stored on a host computer
connected to the Internet. Every web page has a unique address and often begins with the
letters www (World Wide Web). There are a variety of “domains” that indicate who owns the
website and is responsible for its creation. A URL ending in .edu indicates a site created by an
educational institution. www.cobleskill/library.edu
.org private or non profit organization
.gov government entity
.com commercial enterprise
.net network access provider
.mil military entity
Often international websites will have a country code such .uk for United Kingdom and .de for
Germany (Deutschland)
Don’t know the URL?
If you do not know the URL you may be able to guess the address. For example, the Pepsi arena,
a commercial enterprise, can be found at www.pepsiarena.com. The Public Broadcasting System,
a not for profit organization commonly referred to as pbs, can be found at www.pbs.org.
If you need to gather information on a topic you will need to a use search engine. There are over
800 million websites on the Internet and anyone can post a website. You will need to use your
critical thinking skills to sort out the best data.
Subject Directories
These are collections of Internet resources compiled by actual people. They include access to a
small portion of the Internet but often include high quality resources. Many directories also
offer search engines that search their own database of web sites. They are useful for searching
a broad topic. Here are several useful directories:
Librarians’ Index to the Internet http://lii.org
A searchable annotated subject directory of over 10,000 Internet resources selected and
evaluated by librarians for usefulness.
Academic Info http://www.academicinfo.net
College and research level Internet resources maintained by former librarian Mike Madin and a volunteer
group of subject specialists.
The Internet Public Library www.ipl.org
Hosted by the School of Information and Library Studies of the University of Michigan.
Search Engines
Search Engines are software programs that utilize “spiders” to “crawl” through the
Internet to locate resources. They store the results in their databases and display
relevant matches based on a user’s request. While no search engine is capable of
indexing the entire Internet they are quite useful in searching for a specific topic or
when a particular website must be located.
Google http://www.google.com
Google ranks search results based on the number of high quality links to those sites. A
simple search screen and large database make it ideal for finding highly relevant sites
quickly or easily locating specific sites. Even helps to correct spelling errors.
Teoma http://www.teoma.com
Offers results in three areas: popularity-ranked Web pages based on the number of
same-subject pages that reference them; suggested terms to refine a search; and link
collections created by topic experts
SearchEdu.com http://www.searchedu.com
Limits search results to the .edu, domain; also offers to search dictionaries,
encyclopedias, almanacs, etc. Also available are www.searchgov.com (gov domain) as well
as www.searchmil.com (mil domain)
Alta Vista www.altavista.com
Offers several advanced searching options and a translation feature. Its “related searches”
feature narrows results. Use it for narrow topics as well as multimedia and foreign language
sites.
Meta Search Engines
These search engines do not maintain their own databases. They instead submit searches to
other search engines and use their own software to display the results.
Dogpile http://www.dogpile.com
Dogpile combs many top search engines such as AltaVista, Direct Hit, Looksmart and About at
the same time and gives the results of each search engine separately.
Chubba http://www.chubba.com
One can use Chubba to search the Web or search a dictionary, thesaurus or encyclopedia.
Metacrawler http://www.metacrawler.com
Retrieves results in relevancy ranked order; useful power search available with a template of
search options
Web Searching Tips
 Define your topic. Select several keywords to use and identify broader or narrower
search terms as needed.
 Is your spelling accurate?
 Learn how a search tool works. Each one has different features that are useful depending
on the type of search. Generally an “about” link on the homepage of the search tool will
provide information about its use.
 Create bookmarks for useful sites you would like to revisit.
 Use the Internet tutorials page at the
http://library.albany.edu/internet/searchnet.html
University
at
Albany,
online
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 Carefully evaluate the site you find. Who is the site designed for? Who is responsible
for its content? Is it biased? Does it answer your questions?
 Read the latest search engine reviews at www.searchenginewatch.com and read search tool
reviews at www.zdnet.com/pcmag
 Ask a librarian for assistance!
Evaluating Web Sites
 Who is the intended audience? Note the tone and style of the site.
 Consider the source. Is the author identifiable? Does the author have any expertise in
the particular area? Note the domain. Edu indicates educational or research material
while com indicates commercial products or commercially sponsored sites.
 Check the content. Is it accurate and comprehensive? Does it show bias or a particular
point of view? Where is the information coming from?
 Is the site functional? Do all the links work? Is it organized and easy to navigate?
Some information was adapted from Search Engine Watch, www.searchenginewatch.com and the University at Albany Library site at
http://library.albany.edu/internet/searchnet.html
8/19/02 pcm