How to Search the Internet
Working on a deadline you don't have time to waste wading through poor quality Web sites. Here are some hints from a librarian; they should help you do faster and better Web searches.
Understand the differences in the methods of searching
There's no such thing as "one search of the Internet." Each method of searching the Internet will give you different results, some can be dramatically different results. When you search, you should carefully select from these methods:
Subject Directories, such as Yahoo, where your search is not of the whole Internet but to selected Internet resources, selected by Yahoo staff and search results are organized in categories
Search Engines, such as Excite, which is a comprehensive database of Web sites
MetaSearch Engines, such as MetaCrawler, which allows you to search multiple search engines
simultaneously
A intructional site with examples of and tutorials for all of these methods can be found at http://www.infopeople.org/index.html..
Don't go online just yet
"Pre-Search" your topic, issue, person. Especially if the subject is unfamiliar to you, make time for some research in reference sources (not Web sites) in your library, either print or online, or talk to teachers and librarians so that you can understand key terms, dates, and people involved in your subject. This will save you time as you prepare how and where you will search and will help you make sense of the results you get.
Is your topic
If you are writing an article on HOMELESSNESS, for example, a search through a basic search engine like Google you will get 142,000 results. Better idea: use the Advanced Search option offered by all of the engines and follow any suggestions given for narrowing your search, or ask a librarian for this kind of help. When you combine terms (say, HOMELESSNESS and CHILDREN and NEW YORK) you will get fewer and more specific results.
If you are looking for something more obscure, such as Elvis Presley's BLUE SUEDE SHOES lyrics, then a basic search engine like Alta Vista would be great (110 results when last checked including the lyrics!).
Subject directories, such as the Librarians' Index to the Internet at http://lii.org/, when searched will yield relatively few but high quality and reliable Web sources which have been reviewed by humans and each result is shown with a description of the site, its content and value.
Specific sites for research by journalists
The staff of the Eric Friedheim Library & News Information Center at the National Press Club has prepared an extensive source of resources for journalists.
"The resource for online newspapers around the world 5,000 newspapers searchable by title or location and also indexed geographically and .… a section just for campus newspapers — US dailies, non-dailies, and non-US. They also have links to magazines, broadcasters, and news services worldwide.
Found on home page of California Journalism Online, maintained by the California Society of Newspaper Editors, and full of excellent sources.
National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting
Offers online advice on the technical as well as journalistic challenges of computer-assisted reporting.
Your ideas? Send them to me: ebowman@thacher.org
— Elizabeth Bowman
Library Director
The Thacher School
Ojai, CA 93023
August 22, 2000