Internet Searching can lead to information overload, "information anxiety" (Richard Saul Wurman), "data smog" (David Shenk), or all three!

Here are some tips to help you find what you need in the tangle of the web.

1. Use sites that have already been evaluated.

• Internet Sites on the Linfield Libraries homepage. This is a list of sites that the librarians at Linfield have found useful.
• Links from relevant, credible web sites you have found.
• look for URLs that have .edu, .org, or .gov in the address. These are educational, nonprofit, or government sites and they may be more authoritative.

2. Know your search engine.

note: a search engine does not search all web pages and all search engines do not search all the same pages.

• Learn, in detail, about two or three search engines. It is better to learn a few well, so you can do the most refined search possible to limit your results to a manageable number. Use help screens and a search tool chart, to help you refine your search.
• Look at search engine evaluations and comparisons.
  • Search Engine Showdown
  • Search Engine Watch
• Learn search strategies and use search engine tutorials to learn thorough, comprehensive search techniques from UC Berkeley's tutorial for searching the web. There is also information here about searching the invisible web.

3. Evaluate, Evaluate, Evaluate!

• Anybody can publish anything on the web.
• Use well defined criteria to evaluate your web site. Techniques to apply.
• Ask yourself whether this web page adds something unique to the body of information you have gotten from other sources.

4. Cite your web page in your paper

• Be sure you write down or print off the URL (address) for your web page resource when you find it. Nothing is more frustrating than to try to retrace your steps to find it later!
• Record the date you looked at that web page. Web pages come and go frequently, so you need to record the date in your citation.
• Citation guides .

Contact Carol McCulley (cmccull@linfield.edu or 800-452-4176 ext 2595 or 503-883-2595)

Check the Adult Degree Program link including the Research Tips link .