Web Searching Strategies & Tips
Planning a Web Searching Strategy
1. Determine what type of information you need.
Looking for published information (articles, reports)? Search a periodical database or index, like EBSCOs Academic Search Premier or the library catalog.
Remember: The Web is simply a format for providing information. Some types of information, like articles, used to be available only in print and now are available on the Web through databases. Know the difference between:
- Web sites provided by and paid for by your library, like catalogs, databases, and indexes
- Web sites created by everyone else and found by using search engines, like Google or Yahoo!
2. Get to know a search engine well.
These days, there are dozens of Web searching tools, commonly called search engines. Not all are alike. Most search engines now will search for any words or phrases found on a Web page. Some, like Yahoo!, also organize sites according to categories. Others, like Dogpile, are considered "meta-search engines" and will search many search engines simultaneously.
Google is a popular search engine, because:
- it's one of the largest indexing over 4 billion Web pages
- advertising is limited
- it only returns Web pages that contain all the words or phrases in your query
- if you wish to search specifically for a phrase, put your phrase in quotes ("risk management")
- the most "popular" sites seem to appear at the top of the list
3. Think of words, phrases, and synonyms that describe your topic explicitly.
Because search engines look for on the exact words that you enter, pause before you search and think of words that describe your topic in detail. Then, think of synonyms or similar words. For example, if you are searching Google to find information on using marijuana to alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy, you might wish to try the following as three separate searches:
- marijuana chemotherapy
- "medical marijuana" cancer
- "therapeutic marijuana" cancer
If the first few web sites retrieved are irrelevant to your needs, try another combination of words. You may need to enter more specific words describing your topic. Or, you may need to enter more general words.
4. The Web doesn't have it all.
Although the number of freely available Web pages may seem endless, only a small percentage of information on the Web can be found by traditional search engines. The rest is accessible through specialized searching tools and fee-based databases, like the EBSCOhost family of databases, to which the library subscribes.
If you visit the library or contact a librarian, we can help you find the right index, database, or search engine for your needs.
Web Tutorials and Searching Guides
Many libraries have created guides that will help you learn strategies and techniques for searching the Web.
- Bare Bones 101: A Basic Tutorial on Searching the Web, Library, University of South Carolina, Beaufort
- Finding Information on the Internet: A TUTORIAL, The Library, University of California, Berkeley
- University of Albany Internet Tutorials, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York
Updated July 2006
Send Comments to Nancy Gauss, ngauss@western.edu
