Conducting Research on the Web

This presentation will teach you about:  Different types of search engines  How to search on the Internet  How to cite your sources

What are some ways the Internet is different from books and other traditional texts? InternetBooks, Texts Both

You already compared the Internet and other information sources with your class. Here is a summary of their similarities and differences. Books, Texts A book has to be published by a publishing company Editors check and verify the information Looking for a book can be more time consuming You have to visit a library The library uses the Dewey Decimal System Internet Both provide sources of information Both are viewed by millions of people each day Anyone can publish a Web page No one checks to see if the information is true or false There are millions of places to look for information Using the Internet is much quicker You can narrow down what you’re looking for more easily The Internet uses search engines

When is the Internet better than using a traditional source?  When you need current information. The Internet keeps adding new information every day.  Topics that are controversial. The Internet has many people’s opinions. It can help you find information from different viewpoints.

Search Engines  A search engine is a program that allows you to search the Internet for information. There are many search engines on the web.

Different types of search engines  Google, Yahoo, or MSN are popular search engines.  Other search engines are also available.  Let’s look at a few.

Regular search engines  Regular search engines like Yahoo or Google search based on a given search word or phrase.  If you type childhood diabetes you will usually get a huge number of “hits” or websites to visit for information.  Try it! Type childhood diabetes into Google. How many sites do you get? Open the first 3 sites. What kind of information is there?Google  Now go to yahoo.com and type in childhood diabetes. Record the number of hits on your handout. Open the first 3 sites. What kind of information is there?yahoo.com

Why do Google and Yahoo show different sites for the same search?  This is because of the way the engine searches. Google and Yahoo use different search methods. Some sites are the same, but there are also different sites.  A Metasearch can make your search easier. It is able to search several search engines at the same time.

Using a Metasearch  Let’s try searching for childhood diabetes on Cactisearch.  Cactisearch is a metasearch that searches Yahoo, Google, and MSN all at the same time. The results are sorted by search engine and you can narrow your search to one if you want to. Try it now: How might this search be more helpful?

Asking a question  Some search engines work by answering a question you have.  For example, you might ask, “What are the symptoms of childhood diabetes?”  Try it at or  How does this information differ? Is it more or less helpful? What other information is shown?

A graphic search engine  Kartoo is a search engine that shows your information in a map format. This helps you find multiple sites on a topic.  Try it at  Is this site more helpful to you? Why?

Libraries  Libraries have search engines they subscribe to.  They allow their customers to search in databases that are more specific.  Try the BTC library website at Click on quicklinks at the top right menu and then library, then find articles, journals and databases.  Explore the search engines available.  Write down 3 you think might be helpful to you.

Make the most of your search:  Most search engines have something called an advanced search. This allows you to be more specific about what type of information you are looking for.  When you visit a search engine, the Advanced Search page is a great place to start!

Try the Advanced Search  Go to and click on Advanced Search to the right of the search box.  Let’s say you find that childhood diabetes gives you too much extra information you are not interested in. In the Advanced Search menu, put childhood diabetes symptoms in the box that says “all of these words”  This will filter the information so you get more of what you want.

“Smarter” searching on the Internet  Most Internet search engines also allow you to use a set of words or symbols to narrow your search.  AND -use this word when you want to find two words together. For example: childhood diabetes and treatment  OR -use this when you want to accept certain words. For example, childhood diabetes or adolescent diabetes  - (minus sign) –use this symbol when you want to exclude a word. For example, childhood diabetes symptoms - treatment  “quotations” – use quotation marks when you are searching for an exact phrase. For example, if you were searching for a book title, you could type “Nursing management of diabetes mellitus” in quotations and the search engine will look for that exact phrase.

The Wildcard Character  The symbol * is used as a right- handed truncation character only; it will find all forms of a word.  For example, searching for child* will find “children", “childhood", child", etc.  Try it. What are the advantages of using an Advanced Search?

Is the Internet site reliable as an information source? REMEMBER: Anyone can post information on the Internet! Make sure the information you are using comes from a person or organization that can be trusted. One simple way to tell if a site is reliable is to look at who runs the site. Usually, looking at the first section of a web address will tell you where it came from. If it came from a museum, university, or some other place you’ve heard of, chances are that it can be trusted.

How to Cite Sources  Citing your sources means telling people where you got your information. Just as you list books and encyclopedias in your bibliography, you must also include the sources of information you got from the Internet.  Citing your sources is important because it shows others how to find the same information you found.  You need to have a written record of the following information for each website that you actually use in your report.  The name of the site and the author (Who made the website? A company? An organization? An individual?)  What day you found the information  The web address or URL  The copyright date for the website (usually found at the bottom of the homepage)

Writing Your Citation  Use this format to add Internet resources to a bibliography: Author. Title of Website. Web address or URL. Copyright date. Date you found the information. For example, look at this website: Write your citation information down. Author: Title: Web address: You might need to copy and paste from the URL if it is very long. Copyright date: This can be found by clicking on “About this Site” Date found: today’s date

Use correct citation format:  Author: Life Media, Inc.  Title: Your Diabetes Resource  Web address:  Copyright date:  Date found: June 22, 2009 (whatever today’s date is). a bibliographical citation for this website would look like this: Life Media, Inc., Your Diabetes Resource Found on June 22,