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A guide for students, from the SDEHS Library
- What search engine should I use?
- Finding people and places
- Keywords - some general tips
- How do I know if the information is any good?
- Citing your sources
- If you don't find what you want in the first two pages - usually 20 "hits", you are in the wrong place. Use another search engine, or try a different keyword.
- Bookmark your search engines (or add them to your "Favourites" list if you're using Microsoft Explorer) and then put them in the folder labelled "search engines". When you go to use them again, you won't have to waste time typing in their addresses.
- Finding people and places
Sometimes you need a name, an address, a firm or a list of manufacturers specialising in the same product. You can find this information online:
Telstra's White Pages
http://www.whitepages.com.au Use the search option to enter the name of a person, or a business. "Panasonic" will give you an online listing of all this firm's addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, its internet site address and maps.
Telstra's Yellow Pages
http://www. yellowpages.com.au A search on "toys - manufacture" in Sydney gives a list of six manufacturers. Clicking on one of these gives the address and a map of exactly where the firm is located.
- Keywords - some general tips
- Avoid searching on only one word, unless it is very unusual or distinctive. For example "Kakadu" is an unusual word, but even here if you really want information on "Kakadu National Park", you will get a better result if you search on the three words.
- If you are searching for a phrase, put it in double quotation marks, e.g. "Great Barrier Reef". This tells the search engine that the words must appear together, and in that order.
- Narrow your search by country and language, if possible. Some search engines allow you to do this through options on the search home page.
- Use lower case unless you are searching for a proper name. If you search on "Astrology", search engines will only find documents where the word has a capital A, but "astrology" will find words in both upper and lower case.
- Spelling - there are two traps here. Firstly if you misspell a search word the computer won't find it. Secondly, most search engines are American, and their spelling can be different - e.g. centre, center, harbour, harbor, theatre, theater. You can get around this by entering both terms, e.g. "theatre OR theater".
- Final tip. Different search engines use different search languages. Most have two types of searches: Simple Search and Power Search. Read the "help" notes on the search engine's home page for more information. Print them and keep them in a folder so you can access them without going online.
- How do I know if the information is reliable?
Anyone can put anything on the Internet. You'll find:- advertisements
- school projects
- details of university courses
- kid's diaries
- home movies
Here are some questions you should ask about your sites to help you decide whether the information is reliable and suitable for your essay or assignment:
- Who is the author or organisation reponsible for the site?
If you can't find an author you should look elsewhere. Sites maintained by governments, universities, and many non-government organisations such as museums are generally reliable. - What are the credentials of the person responsible for the site?
Is it just an individual giving his/her personal opinion, or is it someone with qualifications in the area? - How recent is the material?
With some topics - e.g. genetics or space research, important discoveries have been made in the last year or six months. Clearly, here the date is important. If it's a site on ancient history, the date may not be so significant. You can often find the date the document was put on the Internet at the bottom of the home page. Otherwise go into the "View" menu, click on "Page info" and you will see the date there. - Is the material on the site objective?
Is it putting only one side of the case? Does it use emotional language? Or try to persuade you to accept a particular point of view? You can often check the facts on the Internet against similar information in a book, encyclopaedia or CD-ROM. - Does the site have links to other sites on the same topic?
A good site will have links to other sites, and sometimes a list of books and articles which were used in compiling the information. - Time-saver
If you're searching for material for a particular project, or essay topic, create a folder in "Bookmarks" or "Favourites" and give it a name such as "Tech. and Design: project". When you are searching the net and you come across sites that might be useful, bookmark them and add them to your folder. Later, when you have plenty of information and have a more complete view of the topic you can go back and decide how reliable they are, and which ones you should use.
- Citing your sources
You must provide your teacher with a bibliography for your essays and projects and writing tasks. It is the way you record the research you have done. Such a list will include all the different materials you have used - books, videos, CD-ROMS, magazine, internet sites. For an internet site you need to put, in this order:- the author, or the organisation
- the title of the article
- the date, if you can find it
- the site address
- when you accessed the site
e.g. Livingstone, Kathy. Writing a basic essay. 1997.
(accessed 11th March, 2000)
Note: not every site address hasin it.
e.g. Mambo. Drawing conclusions: pencil and paper vs The Machine Age.
Note: This is an example of an organisation as "author"
And lastly ... The Internet is not the best source for every type of information. If you can't find something on the net, it's probably not there!
Other good sources are books, magazines, videos, CD-ROMS and encyclopaedias. These can often be accessed more easily and provide excellent information.
The library can help you with these resources. Ring us (02)9383 270, or email us with your requests or the topic you need information on. We will send materials out by mail. The loan period is four weeks, or we can arrange an extended loan if you need any items for longer.
Top
What search engine should I use?
There are hundreds of search engines out there. Stick to a few tried and true ones. Get to know these well and then, if you have time, experiment with others. Remember, no two search engines work in exactly the same way, so it pays to read the online help which can be found at the site.
For information on Australian topics
Anzwers
http://www.anzwers.com.au An Australian search engine that searches Australian and New Zealand sites. Try it first when you are looking for anything to do with these two countries, e.g. echidnas, Bathurst.
Recommended!
Google
http://www.google.com Rated one of the best search engines around. It's not one of the most comprehensive, but often finds the most useful pages. Click on "Search tips" on the home page for a quick guide to the best way to search.
Other Suggestions
Altavista
http://www.altavista.com One of the largest search engines which also offers you the opportunity to customise your search. Searching on a single word in this engine will probably give too many hits, so search on a phrase or a number of words.
Yahoo
http://www.yahoo.com This is different from the others above, because it is a subject directory. You can look for information under different subject headings, e.g. Robotics. It is useful when you want to find out what is available on a particular subject.
Metacrawler
http://www.metacrawler.com This is a metasearch engine which, when it gets your request, searches six or more search engines and presents the results in a single list. But to do this it has to reduce your query to its simplest form. You can get good results, but at other times it's disappointing.
Time-savers