Overview
Getting Started
Search engines search electronically whereas most search directories use human editors to exclude irrelevant sites and include beneficial ones. Wikis invite contributors to write and edit articles mostly without authorship. Understanding the pluses and minuses of each of these search tools will help you to determine when they are appropriate to use for particular high school research assignments.
Explore information in the Search Engines, Search Directories, and Wiki boxes and read the following tips.
Tips For Using Search Engines:
- Search engines are best when searching for specific things such as “revolutionary war diaries” as opposed to the more general “war”
- Use specific academic terms such as “climate change”
- Use exact phrases such as “research on medical marijuana”
- Go to Advanced Search tools to refine searches
Tips For Using Search Directories:
- Read the annotations (summaries of sites written by directory editors) for your top results to see if you are on the right track
- Browse subject categories
- Keep search terms broad
- Check sites for searching tips as all directories are organized differently
- Read about the wiki you are using to see how it is managed and organized. For example, Wikipedia relies on a vast number of dedicated volunteers to correct articles that don’t meet its standard for content neutrality (no bias or limited points of view) and verifiability.
- FOR ACADEMIC RESEARCH always verify facts presented on a wiki with credible sources such as books.
- Always check with your teacher to see if wikis are acceptable. Most teachers will require credible verifiable sources for academic research.
About Search Engines
Search engines use complex computer programs to index websites, and these enormous indexes can then be searched using keywords. Search engines rank pages depending on relevancy (how many times a keyword appears on a webpage), proximity (where a keyword appears on the page) and popularity ranking (how often other sites link to the page).
It’s important to remember that search engines search electronically whereas most search directories use human editors to exclude irrelevant sites and include beneficial ones. Search engines are businesses that rely on ad revenue. Search engines in order of popularity are Google, Yahoo, Ask.com and Bing.
Using Wikipedia : Gives guidelines and discusses limitations. (Carleton College)
Google Search
Search Directories
Best Places to Search : Use this site to find some great places to search for information based on your research topic.
Search directories use expert editors to select and organize websites. Some directories are more tightly organized than others so it’s a good idea to read about how a particular directory is organized before you use it.
Scholarly Research Directories:
Google Scholar Provides a simple way to search for scholarly research
Infotopia Search engine accessing only trusted websites selected by teachers and librarians
Internet Public Library/Librarians’ Index (ipl2) Good spot to research any discipline. Search this directory of thousands of handpicked, screened and annotated web sites.