There are many different search engines available. Each individual needs to find the one that works best for them. I use Google because they send me a newsletter every month with secret librarian tricks and tips to make me more effective. Also, it tends to be the one that students are most likely to use.
Here is a fantastic guide to search engines categorized by the circumstances under which they would best be used.When using Google use the “advanced search” tag over to the right of the search box. This allows you the option of Boolean search terms as well as restricting searches by domain name, time, language and other options. I tell students that the domain name option is great because it can allow you to look at.edu, .gov and .mil sites depending on what their search needs are. These types if sites are easier to qualify because the authors or responsible parties are generally easier to determine. It used to be that .org and .net were thought to be more reliable, but that is no longer the case. Those domains do let the searcher know how the organization defines itself, but they say nothing about bias, accuracy or motives of the creators of the site.
When you come across good information but are unaware of the source, often truncating the URL can be useful. Just chop off the last bit of the URL (the website’s address) and see what happens. Often an article will be part of a series for a university class and eventually the truncation will lead to an index page that will name the author or the responsible party. At the very least it will give you the name of the institution from which the work was generated and you can email for more information.
When web searching quotation marks can be your best friends. Where Boolean searching has become mostly passé, putting quotes around some of your search terms can help narrow your search. Also adding the phrase “primary document” or “full text” can make finding specific works easier. Many poems, short stories, speeches and the like can be located this way.
Wikipedia is such a pain in my neck. I love it for its communal nature, but since it gets so many hits, it is nearly always in the top 10 results for any students search. It is not that it is full of lies as some would claim, but that it is not always entirely true. Some entries are excellent, but it is a case of needing to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Assuming of course that it wasn’t that great a baby to begin with and that you have an unlimited supply of other babies. Maybe a different metaphor would have worked better here. I tell kids that it is a good source for quick background information but little else. And then I show them the
interesting entry on Lucy Larcom. See if you can find the cleverly placed misinformation! Also, the site
about.com often takes their information directly from Wikipedia making in just as unciteable.
