How to Search the Web
An ACC Library
Tutorial

How to Search the Web
This tutorial offers simple
approaches to Web
searching and
evaluation.
Take 10 minutes now
to save hours of
searching later!

First: some quick Web basics:
The World Wide Web is an
interconnected network
of computers around the
world.
No group controls the
quality of Web sites.
Checking Web
information is your job!

Much information is on the Web…
Valuable, credible information:

research, statistics, health news, financial data
from governments and non-profit groups;
Hobby and personal information, by

individuals;
Commercial advertising from companies;

Inaccurate, offensive

information, rantings, opinions presented as
facts, child pornography, stolen music, etc.

So…is everything on the Web??
NO! No one publishing
medium contains all
information in the
world: not
books, TV, radio, films
, or the Web!
By far, most information
in the world is NOT on
the Web.

When to use the Web in research:
It’s often best to use Web sites after
using books and articles, which are
usually fact-checked by experts.
Learn about your subject in reliably
credible sources first, so you can
evaluate Web sites better!

Using computers at ACC:
Computers with Web access are located:
near the Reference Desk in the ACC
–
Library in Scoville Learning Center,
the Student Computing lab on the
–
lower level of Scoville,
the Student Center and other locations
–
around campus.
Using these computers indicates your
consent to ACC’s Computer Use
Policy.

Wi-Fi Access
ACC students, faculty and staff can

use their usernames and passwords
to log in to the wireless system in the
Scoville building.
Stop by the reference desk first for the

Wireless Access Password sheet.

Free vs. subscription Web sites:
Just like with network and cable TV, there

are free and paid or subscription Web sites.
You generally get what you pay for!
This tutorial discusses ways to search for

the best free Web sites.
Students have free access to subscription

Web sites (such as article databases) on
ACC Library’s Web page.

Let’s go through these questions to
evaluate Web pages:
1) Who created the page?
2) How current is it?
3) Does it show a bias or
limited point of view?
4) Is it accurate?

1) Who created the Web page?
Who is the author or

producer?
Are credentials or contact

information given?
If published by an

organization, is any
background given?
Is it the group’s official site?


Check the address endings!
The last part of a Web address may tell you who

created the site:
.com (for-profit company; about 50% of addresses),
.gov (U.S. federal government),
.edu (college or university),
.org (non-profit organization),
.net (network) and
.mil (military).
Two-letter country (.us) or state (.ny) addresses are also used.
New Web address endings are being added:

…and others.
.biz .museum .info .pro

2) How current is the Web site?
When was the

information produced?
When was it last

updated?
Does the currency

matter for your subject?
Are the links up-to-

date, or do they lead to
“dead ends”?

3) Does the Web site have a bias?
Does the site offer facts

or opinions?
Are political, cultural or

other biases evident?
Does it present all

viewpoints, or selected
ones?
Is the author trying to

sell a product or have
other vested interests?

4) What is the Web site’s content?
What is the site’s purpose?

Is it accurate? Does it

correspond to research in
more reliably credible
sources?
Who is the intended

audience?
Is it clearly organized and

designed well?

Four ways to search the Web:
Use these approaches in this order to save
time and get the best search results:
Recommended Web sites

Subject directory

Search engine

Meta-search engine

Let’s go through each….

1) Recommended Web site:
This technique is learned
with experience.
Check textbooks, ACC Library
research guides and with
your instructor for ideas.
We’ll get you started with a
few favorites….they might
become your favorites too!

Some Web addresses
recommended by ACC librarians:
FedStats: http://www.fedstats.gov
Federal and state statistics
NewsVoyager : http://newsvoyager.com
Links to many U.S. newspapers
RefDesk: http://refdesk.com
News, weather, reference Web sites

2) Subject Directory:
Subject directories are Web
sites offering:
 a small, organized collection
of high-quality Web sites.
 sites chosen by people, not
software.
Use them to find a few
good, credible Web sites.

Examples of subject directories:
Commercial subject directories are fine for
movie reviews, recipes, and other non-college
research. They rarely evaluate sites for quality.
Yahoo!
Google Directory
For research papers, use the ones on the next page…

Non-profit subject directories:
For college-level research:
Librarians’ Internet Index: http://lii.org
Thousands of sites chosen by Library of California.
Internet Public Library http://ipl.org
From the University of Michigan.
(Save these as favorites on your computer!)

Try out a subject directory…
Test a subject in Librarians’ Internet Index:
http://lii.org
Click on the categories for
Health, Money, Statistics, Education, etc.
Find good Web sites in seconds!

3) Search engines:
Search engines search millions or billions of Web

sites by subject, using software.
They’re useful for very specific subject searches,

or if you want many, many results.
Search engines Web sites are

usually not organized by subject,
nor quality-oriented.

Google remains the
most popular search engine…
It’s a “second generation” search
engine, using link popularity and other
criteria to find useful sites.
It searches several billion sites.
But if you’re going to Google…

Use Google’s “Advanced Search”!
Click on Advanced Search to right of
1)
Google’s search box. Use these
options if helpful:
“this exact wording or phrase”

“search within a site or domain” limit: (search

for gov or edu or org endings)
“any of these unwanted words” to omit sites

with “com” endings.

There are other search engines!
No search engine covers all the Web.
More than a thousand search engines exist.
Compare a Google search with these:
Ask.com
AllTheWeb
For 200+ more search engines, see Search Engines & Web Directories

4) Meta-search engines:
These are search engines that search
other search engines.
They cull the top results from
–
several search engines.
It’s a broad, shallow way to
–
search.
Use this method last, to find
–
“needle in a haystack” facts.

Examples of meta-search engines:
MetaCrawler
SurfWax
Ixquick
See this Meta-Search Engines page for 90

more.

This tutorial was created for Adirondack
Community College students by ACC
instruction librarian
Joyce Miller.

Thanks for watching this!
At any time, ask a librarian for tips and ideas!
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