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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 a 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