Online Searching Tips
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This document summarizes online searching tips presented by Mindy McAdams from the University of Florida. It discusses advanced search options on Google, evaluating the trustworthiness of websites, investigating website sources, top-level domains, open directories, the Wayback Machine, health information resources, blog searching, and using critical thinking to evaluate online information.
Online Searching Tips
- 1. Online Searching Tips Presentation by Mindy McAdams University of Florida Links to all resources are on one page (click this text)
- 3. What You Don’t Know About
- 6. Google Lessons Google Help Center http://www.google.com/help/basics.html Advanced Search http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en
- 7. Better Google Searches Exclude a word, with a minus sign Pages in the results list will not have that word Example: telephone –mobile Limit all results to one site Example: scholarships site:ufl.edu Find pages that link to a specified page Example: link:www.crimelibrary.com –site:crimelibrary.com
- 8. Can you trust this site?
- 9. Answer These Questions Who provided this information? What tells me for sure it came from that source? Who is that source, really? Do they have a bias or an agenda? When was this last updated? Is it too old to trust?
- 10. Investigate the Source Look for an “About” page Look for a date; be vigilant if it is today’s date! (That probably does not mean it was updated today) Google the full name (in quotes) of the person or organization whose name appears on the page (as author) E-mail or phone the source!
- 11. Original Domains .com .net .org .edu .gov .mil .int In the 1980s, seven generic top-level domains ( TLDs ) were created for the Internet. Domain names may be registered in three of these (.com, .net and .org) without restriction . The other four have limited purposes. Source -- http://www.icann.org/tlds/
- 12. “New” Domains .biz .info .name .pro .aero .coop .museum Seven additional TLDs were introduced in 2001 and 2002. Four of the new TLDs (.biz, .info, .name and .pro) are unsponsored . The other three new TLDs (.aero, .coop and .museum) are sponsored . Source -- http://www.icann.org/tlds/
- 13. Country Code Domains .us .mx .ca .cn .in .ch .tv < ??? Known as country code top-level domains ( ccTLDs ) these are controlled by the registrars of the individual countries. Look them up at iana.org
- 14. Country Code Domains .us .mx .ca .cn .in .ch .tv < Tuvalu Population: 11,810 (July 2006 est.)
- 15. .tv > Tuvalu
- 16. Open Directory & The Wayback Machine
- 22. Open Directory vs. Google
- 23. Open Directory vs. Google
- 24. Internet Archive / Wayback Machine
- 25. Internet Archive / Wayback Machine
- 26. Wayback Machine: NYTimes 1996
- 27. Wayback Machine: NYTimes 1999
- 28. Wayback Machine: NYTimes 2001
- 29. Other Great Starting Places for Online Research
- 33. Wikipedia: Not What You Think
- 34. Wikipedia: Links at the Bottom!
- 36. Health info: NIH, CDC, WHO
- 37. Blog Searches
- 38. Search in: Blog posts
- 39. Scan results for interest
- 40. Scan results for interest
- 41. Open blog post and scan it
- 42. Open blog post and scan it
- 43. Benefit from blogger’s expertise
- 44. Benefit from blogger’s expertise
- 46. Results Sorted by Relevance
- 47. Results Sorted by Date
- 48. Using blogs to find good info Who is the blogger? What are his or her qualifications? These matter if you want to quote the blogger (as an authority) However, if the blog simply points you to another site … And that site turns out to be great …
- 49. You can trust the Internet … … if you use your powers of critical thinking! If it looks “sketchy,” unprofessional – then be very skeptical! If it looks okay, check out the source! Go behind the scenes Find out who wrote it Find out who sponsored it Find out how old it is
- 50. Thank You! Presentation by Mindy McAdams University of Florida Links to all resources are on one page (click this text)