Web Search Tips
Phrase Searching
If you have a phrase that should be kept together (like social psychology), put it in quotation marks. This will prevent you from receiving results that say social in one part of the Web page and psychology in another.
Limit to Gov or Edu Sites
In Google, you may limit your search results to government (.gov) or educational (.edu) sites by typing site:edu or site:gov in the search box after your terms. These sites are generally considered to be more reputable than other types of sites, and may be better for college-level research.
Evaluating Websites
Use the Who, What, When, Where, and Why questions to determine if websites are appropriate for college-level research.
Who?
- Who is the author of this page?
- Are the author's qualifications clearly stated?
- Is the author separate from the "webmaster"?
- Can the author be contacted for clarification?
What?
- What is the purpose of this site?
- What topics are covered?
- What goals/objectives does this resource meet?
- What opinions are expressed?
- What is the context in which the information is provided?
When?
- When was this site created?
- When was it last updated?
Where?
- Where did the writers obtain their information? Are citations included?
- What institution published this? Are they reputable?
- Where can I verify this information?
Why?
- Why is this information useful?
- Why is this page better than other pages on this topic?