Lesson 14
Search Effectively
The Internet has made information available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a
week. With a device that has Internet access such as a computer, a personal digital
assistant, or even a cellphone, you can connect to and search for information from
anywhere in the world. You can do research while on the sidelines of a football game,
you can do research in the parking lot of 7-Eleven while getting a drink with your friends,
or you can do research while watching your little sister’s ballet practice.
This lesson will help you search more effectively and find quality, useful information.
Learning Outcomes
14.1
Understand and use search engines to get specific information from reputable
sources.
14.2
Use advanced search features and Boolean operators to filter information.
14.3
Evaluate the validity and quality of information.
14.4
Understand how to correctly cite your sources.
14.1: Search Engines
Understand and use search
engines to get specific information
from reputable sources.
Search engines were developed to make searching
easier and faster. Search engines are software
programs that contain lists of keywords. These
keywords are linked to web pages on computers all over
the world. When you type in a keyword, the search
engine checks its list of words. When it finds a match,
the search engine will display the names and links to all the web pages that contain the
keywords you searched for. However, the first links on the list may not be the best
choices. This spot, at the beginning of the list, is sold to advertisers and may contain
information that is slanted in favor of the advertiser.
Web pages do not reside on the
search engine computer. Only the
list of keywords is on the search
engine’s computer. The web pages
are usually stored on servers
owned by hosting companies.
Hosting companies are businesses
that maintain computers full of web pages and other files for smaller businesses. So
there are times when web pages or websites are not available or have been removed
from the computer by the owner. When this is the case, you will receive a message that
the web page is no longer available.
Search engines use special programs called spiders or bots (short for robots). These
programs crawl through (search) the web in search of new web pages for indexing. This
is an automated process (done by a computer) and decisions about what to include in a
search engine’s database are made without human intervention.
Some search engines search the entire Internet for all
kinds of information. These are called external search
engines. Google and Yahoo are some examples of
external search engines. The lists of keywords in these
databases are for all kinds of information. Other external
search engines store specialized information such as
information for lawyers, for doctors, or for accountants. If you cannot find what you are
looking for using one search engine, try another search engine. Using the same
keywords on different search engines can give different or more results.
Sometimes you may want to search for something in a specific website. Search engines
that search only the contents of one website are known as internal search engines.
Elearn.byu.edu, for example, has an internal search engine that only searches for
information on the BYU Independent Study website.
Search engines and the results they provide come and go like everything else on the
Internet. What is available today may not be there tomorrow. And not all search engines
have the same capabilities. With that in mind, check out this list of search engines.
Google
Yahoo
MSN
AOL
Dogpile
HotBot
Zoo
WebCrawler
Mamma
The Most Popular Internet Search Engines
www.google.com
www.yahoo.com
www.msn.com
www.search.aol.com
www.dogpile.com
www.hotbot.com
www.zoo.com
www.webcrawler.com
https://mamma.com
Autosearch
In older versions of Internet browsers, the address bar was only used for addressing.
The newest versions of all the browsers available are now able to use the URL address
bar as a search window. Simply type in what you are looking for. Your browser will
automatically display a list of possible websites that match your search criteria.
Keywords
Keywords are important for finding the information you need. The Internet contains so
much information; it would be easy to spend many hours searching and never find what
you need. For example, last year I had a student who was looking for information about
spiral staircases because he needed to build one for the school play. He searched for
four days and then told me there was nothing on the Internet about spiral staircases. I
asked him what his keywords were. He said, “Stairs, staircase, round stairs.” I asked
him to try searching for “spiral staircase.” He received over two million hits.
Take time before you search to
brainstorm and identify as many
keywords as you can about your
subject. Some of the keywords you
come up with may not yield good
results but brainstorming trains your
brain to look for possibilities. With
practice you will get better at identifying the right keywords. For example, if you are
writing a paper for your science class on the solar system, you might brainstorm the
following keywords:

solar system
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Milky Way Galaxy
planets
stars
earth
sun
history of the planets
formation of the earth
formation of the solar system
Some of these keywords may be really helpful while others may not be helpful at all.
The point is that as you brainstorm, one keyword may lead you to another keyword that
will be really useful. If you just cannot think of keywords to use, ask your teachers,
parents, and friends for suggestions.
Consider your keywords carefully. By default, most search engines will look for any
occurrence of any of your keywords. The results of your search are ranked by the
number of matching words they contain from your search keywords. If you did a search
for “formation of the solar system” your top results would be documents that included all
of your keywords.
Whether or not you capitalize a keyword could make a difference. Some search engines
distinguish between words beginning with uppercase letters and lowercase. If you are
looking for information about the country Turkey, this would be very important. If you
enter “turkey” in the search box, you could find information dealing with the kind of
turkeys you eat when you really wanted information about the country Turkey.
Spelling is critical! Incorrectly spelled words in the URL box will at the very least not give
you the information you are looking for. They may even take you to offensive sites.
Make sure you spell your keywords correctly!
14.2: Advanced Searches
Use advanced search features and
Boolean operators to filter information.
Search engines often return millions of results for simple searches. This is clearly too
many results to look through them all. Depending on what you are searching for and the
search engine you are using, your results can be narrowed significantly by using an
advanced search. Some specialized search engines allow you to narrow the results to
only the exact phrase you are looking for. For instance, you can search for the exact
phrase “Romeo and Juliet,” but ignore any results that include “movie.” The options vary
somewhat by search engine, but they are all relatively simple. To use these options,
look for a button on your search engine that says “advanced,” or “advanced search.”
This will take you to a page where you can narrow your search and save yourself a lot
of time.
Databases
Databases are often used for scholarly research. Some high schools and most, if not all,
universities pay for access to some databases. Databases have internal search engines
that allow students access to highly reliable materials that cannot be found through a
regular search. This means that the results from individual sources yield fewer results,
since the search only includes information from the database, but the results are more
accurate and more reputable. Check with your school librarian or city library for access
to databases in your area.
Boolean Operators
Boolean operators (pronounced “boo-lee-an”) are
named after the mid-1800s mathematician George
Boole and are advanced search methods designed
to help you narrow your search. Boolean operators
are logical terms used to combine keywords or
define the relationships between keywords. For
example, a search for “spiral staircase” would lead
to the following results:
spiral
all documents with the word spiral in them and not necessarily having
anything to do with staircases
staircase all documents with the word staircase in them and not necessarily having
anything to do with spiral staircases
Boolean operators allow words to be connected together to yield better or more
accurate results for what you are really looking for. The most commonly used Boolean
operators are listed below along with symbols that can be used in their place.
AND
+
NOT
-
OR
|
So, the search for spiral staircase could be refined if you typed spiral AND staircase; the
search would then yield the correct results
for documents that only talk about spiral
staircases. Notice that the Boolean operator
is in all capital letters. Some search engines
require the Boolean operator to be in all
caps and some do not. Because you may
not know which search engines require all
caps, it is a good idea to get into the habit of
using all capital letters when you search with Boolean operators.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Boolean.pdf
https://youtu.be/xsSZps3NH-M
14.3: Validity and Quality
Evaluate the validity and quality of
information.
The Internet is a wonderful resource. Information from all over the world can be located
instantly. However, do not assume that all information on the Internet is accurate or
even true. Anyone with a computer and Internet access can post information on the web
that could be false, misleading, or inaccurate. It could even appear alongside articles
from peer-reviewed journals, which are written by the real experts. That is why it is
important to understand that documents with inaccurate information and intentionally
misleading websites do exist, how to recognize them, and how to avoid them.
A few years ago, a major university in Utah made the news. A professor had assigned a
research paper to his students. While grading the papers, he noticed that all the papers
had the same errors in facts, in spelling, and in grammar. He investigated and
discovered that his students had used the Internet for their research. However, they did
not check the credibility of the websites and information they used. The information that
his students had used had come from a research paper that a third-grade had created.
The third-grade teacher was proud of the work her students had done and had posted
their paper on the Internet. This embarrassment to university students and their
university could have been avoided had the college students checked their sources.
The last I heard of this story, the university was trying to decide what disciplinary action
to take against the college students. You never want to be in this situation!
So just what are you looking for in a credible source? You are looking for information
that is relevant, unbiased, reliable, recent, and verifiable.
Relevant
To determine the relevance of the information you found on the Internet to your subject
ask yourself:
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How does this relate to my subject?
Does it match what I am looking for exactly?
Does the article give me details that I can use?
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Does the article give me ideas for new keywords to search for?
Are the photographs, art, graphs, and charts relevant?
Is the article current?
Do not get discouraged by the sheer volume of information on the Internet. With just a
little practice, you will be able to quickly determine whether an article has relevancy to
your topic.
Unbiased
In addition to valid and truthful information, you should be looking for unbiased
information. A reliable website should discuss both sides of the story, with viewpoints
both in support of and in opposition of the topic. At the very least, the website should
simply state the facts and let you make up your own mind. Since money is the goal of a
business, some information is biased to benefit the business that is sponsoring its
publication. Bias means the
information favors something, in
this case the information favors
the business.
Think about the goal of a website.
Ask yourself these questions:
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Why was this page posted on the web?
Is the website trying to sell something?
Is the website trying to persuade me to think one way?
Is the website stating the facts?
Does the information appear to be biased or unbiased?
Are opposing views discussed?
Reliable
Analyze the web address to get clues about the source of
the information you are looking at. Remember that the
domain gives you an idea about the purpose of a website.
You can learn a lot about the purpose of a web page from
its URL. Is the site designed to inform and educate, or is it
designed to sell something? Be aware of the purpose of a
site as you are looking up information. Remember, the following URL extensions can
give you a clue to the validity of the information:
Website Domains
.com
Commercial
Purpose is to sell something
.net
Network
Purpose is to persuade
.org
Organization
Purpose is to persuade
.gov
Government
Purpose is to inform
.edu
Education
Purpose is to inform
As you learned in lesson 10, there are other domains. Always check the purpose of the
domain when searching for information.
Analyze the quality of a website. A clue to
the accuracy and credibility of a website is
its completeness. Be wary if a web resource
includes links to web pages that do not work
or to web pages that are not of a high
quality.
Ask these questions:
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If there are links to other resources, are the other resources well chosen?
Do the links to other resources support the content on the current web page?
Do all the hyperlinks work or are some of the links dead or outdated?
Are there misspelled words or other inaccuracies in the text?
Is the website filled with advertising and pop-up ads?
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Is the quality of photographs, art, and graphs of higher quality?
In addition to taking away from the overall reliability of a website, typographical, spelling,
and grammatical errors can affect the accuracy of the information provided.
Investigate a website’s popularity. Another way to determine the validity of a website is
by investigating whether other reliable websites link to it or advertise on the website.
Ask these questions:
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What websites have links or ads on this website?
Do the links or ads lead to more information about my subject?
Have people posted comments about this website and its information?
What are others saying about the credibility of this information?
Recent
Is the information up to date? Look for a date that will tell you when the information was
last updated. If you are researching a current subject, avoid information that is older
than two years, if possible. If you are researching a historical topic, you may go back a
little further. However, choose the most current websites whenever possible because
they will give you the most accurate information. In the absence of the last updated
date, you may check the copyright date. This date is usually located at the bottom of the
web page.
Verifiable
Do not stop after finding only one or two articles about your subject. Remember George
Washington Carver, the inventor of peanut butter? When researching about him, I found
five articles that said he was not the inventor of peanut butter. If I had stopped there, I
would have had the wrong information. With further research, I found many more
articles that said he was, in fact, the inventor of peanut butter. But because he had
invented so many things and had not patented or copyrighted most of his inventions,
other people erroneously claim to have invented peanut butter.
To verify the information you find online, check for similar information in books,
periodicals, and journals from your public library. Look for supporting information to
confirm dates and places. Can you find several different articles that have the same
facts?
Investigate the source of the information. Look for a “Works Cited” page, a
“Bibliography” page, or a “Reference” page. Credible information should be supported
by references or bibliographies. If a website offers data without documentation, you
should be wary of using it in your research project. Web pages from credible sources
are not afraid to display who they are. Ask these questions:
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Can I determine where the author got the information?
Can I find specific contact information such as the following?
o company name
o company address
o company phone number
o company e-mail address
Webmaster
Who is the author of the information found on the website? Many pieces of information
found on the Internet are created by different people. For example, Wikipedia is built
and maintained by groups of people. How would you contact the author of a Wikipedia
page if you do not know who added what to the page?
You also need to consider any credentials the author may have. Look for information
that indicates the author is an authority on the subject he or she is talking about. Look
for college degrees, certificates, and awards the author has received.
Who is the publisher? Does it make sense that the information is being published by a
specific business or company? If you are writing a paper about insects and the website
is sponsored by a company that produces music videos you might want to rethink your
source.
You must be able to identify the author or the publisher of a web page if you wish to
quote or cite the information. Sometimes it is difficult to identify the author of a website,
so look for a link that says “About Us” or “Contact Us” or look at the bottom of the page
for information on the author, editor, Webmaster, or authority behind the content.
Evaluating web pages effectively requires practice and a critical and perhaps even
skeptical mind. However, by asking the right questions and practicing using the
guidelines provided, you will be able to determine if the information is relevant,
unbiased, reliable, recent, and verifiable.
14.4: Citing Your Sources
Understand how to correctly cite your
sources.
Not so very long ago, when you needed to research a paper topic for your English
class, you had to go to the library and look for information in books. Your teacher would
have told you that you needed to cite the source of the information you find and create
a reference page or works cited page. A reference page is located at the end of a paper
and lists all the publications that you took information from. Today, the reference page
may include magazines, Internet websites, online encyclopedias, and online
newspapers, as well as books from the library.
Create a table like this one and use it to gather your information. Do not submit this
table as your reference page. This table is only a tool to help you gather information.
Source 1
Author’s name:
Date published:
Title of the article or book:
Publisher or website name:
Complete URL address:
Date you found it on the
Internet:
Source 2
Author’s name:
Date published:
Title of the article or book:
Publisher or website name:
Complete URL address:
Date you found it on the
Internet:
Source 3
Author’s name:
Date published:
Title of the article or book:
Publisher or website name:
Complete URL address:
Date you found it on the
Internet:
Most teachers will require that you find a minimum of three sources. More would be
better, but never find fewer than three sources. You can copy and paste the URL into
the table. This will help you find the website again if you need it.
You will also want to follow APA or MLA formatting rules for your reference or works
cited page. You have probably learned about these rules from your English teacher. If
not, you can use this topic to research and get more information from the Internet.
There are several websites that will help you place source information in the correct
order and format your sources. Check out this free website: www.citationmachine.net
As you write your research papers, you need to be very careful to restate ideas in your
own words. Give credit to the creator of the original idea; however, be sure to expand
on ideas to make them your own. Many students fall victim to plagiarism. Plagiarism is
taking credit for someone else’s work or idea. By copying and pasting ideas and work
from the Internet, especially without citing the owner of the work, people have put their
jobs and their educations in jeopardy. Employees have
been fired from jobs, college students have been expelled
from universities, and high school students have failed
classes because they plagiarized someone else’s work. To
avoid being accused of plagiarism, always give credit to
your sources.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the copying and using the written work of others without giving the creator
credit for his or her work.
Student Guide to
Avoiding Plagiarism
WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?
Plagiarism is presenting someone else's words or ideas as your own. The following are
all examples of plagiarism:

Quoting or paraphrasing material without citing the source of that material.
Sources can include Websites, magazines, newspapers, textbooks, journals, TV
and radio programs, movies and videos, photographs and drawings, charts and
graphs; any information or ideas that are not your own.

Quoting a source without using quotation marks -- even if you do cite it.
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Buying a paper online or downloading a paper from a free site.
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Copying or using work done by another student.
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Citing sources you didn't use.
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Turning in the same paper for more than one class without the permission of
both teachers.
NOTE TAKING
The best way to avoid plagiarism is to take careful notes. When taking notes, always
do the following:

First, read the entire text and summarize it in your own words. Then paraphrase
important points and copy usable quotes. Enclose quotes in quotation marks.

Carefully distinguish between material that is quoted, material that is
paraphrased, material that is summarized, and your own words and ideas.
Consider using different colored ink for each type of source.
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Include in your notes all the information you will need to cite your sources.
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Copy all source information into your working bibliography using the format your
teacher has provided.
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Print any Web pages you use. Write the URL and the date on the Web page if it
isn't included on the printout.
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Save all your notes and printouts until you receive your final grade.
CITING SOURCES
You must cite the source of every quote, every paraphrased passage, and every
summarized idea you use in a research paper. Commonly known facts, such as dates
or definitions, do not need to be cited unless you take those facts directly from a
specific reference source, such as an encyclopedia. If you're not sure whether a source
should be cited, include it just in case.
Sources must be cited both in the body of the paper and in the bibliography. In the
body of the paper, you must do the following:

Copy quoted material exactly, enclose it in quotations marks, and name the
author immediately before or after the quote. Use the same procedure for
summarized or paraphrased material, but omit the quotation marks.
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Cite the source information (title, publisher, date, and so on) for the quote or
paraphrased or summarized information either in parentheses within the text or
in a footnote.
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List on a reference page at the end of your paper the information for all the
sources you have cited. (This is not the same as the bibliography.)
The bibliography is a list of all the sources you used -- both those you cited and those
you used for research, but did not cite directly. The bibliography should follow the
format your teacher has provided.
WRITING THE PAPER
The following tips on the writing process also will help you avoid plagiarism.

Read your notes carefully and make sure you understand the material before
you begin to write.
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Write a preliminary draft without looking at your notes. Leave spaces where you
think you'll want to include quotes or supporting material.

Use your own words as much as possible. No one expects you to write like an
expert or a professional writer. You should, however, write like a serious,
intelligent student.
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Cite all sources as you write your rough draft.
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Read through your final draft and make sure all uncited ideas are your own.
© 2002 by Education World®. Education World grants educators permission to
reproduce this page for classroom use.
_________________________
Ms. Revoir will show these two videos. They contain valuable information on research
and avoiding plagiarism.
Video: Information Literacy: The Perils of Online Research (21 minutes)
Video: Plagiarism 2.0: Information Ethics in the Digital Age ( 19 minutes)