How do I conduct an effective internet search?

This page last updated 04/03/2007

Searching for information on the internet is often a time-consuming, frustrating process. You can can generally save yourself a lot of time by contemplating your web search before you start. You also may want to set a time limit for yourself, as internet searching can be a real time waster! In general, thinking for 10 minutes and doing one search will often be better than just searching for 10 minutes without giving it any thought. There are some general rules you can use to help you make the most of your search.

Make sure you understand how your search engine works - they all should have good help systems to make sure you know what you're doing.
Pick keywords that are specific for your topic - e.g., if you are doing a research project on a medication, you may need to search for the specific name of the drug as well as any names developed by the drug company (e.g., searching for both "acetominophen" and "Tylenol" might be worthwhile).
Use linked searches - most search engines allow you to use terms like "AND", "OR", and "NOT" to search for groups of words. You also can often search for a specific phrase by putting it in quotes.

Here are some web sites that provide further suggestions

	Seven commandments of highly effective web searching - intended for legal professionals, but still a good resource for any web searcher.
	Guidelines from the library of University of Puget Sound - this is a short page with a quick list of criteria to consider when conducting a search.
	Search guidelines from Yahoo! - this is a listing of sites that are related to effective internet searching.
	Search guidelines from Purdue University - this set of links is provided by the Writing Lab at Purdue University.
	TILT - this is a tutorial on web searching and evaluation from the Texas Information Literacy Tutorial.
	Searchenginez.com - this provides a tutorial with 13 tips to use when making your own searches.
	Internet for Biosciences - this site provides search tutorials and evaluation tools.