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Online Searching Tips Presentation by Mindy McAdams University of Florida Links to all resources are on one page (click this text)
 
What You Don’t Know About
1. Start simple
Google’s Advanced Search
Google Lessons Google Help Center http://www.google.com/help/basics.html Advanced Search http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en
Better Google Searches Exclude a word, with a minus sign Pages in the results list will not have that word Example:  telephone  –mobile Limit all results to one site Example:  scholarships  site:ufl.edu Find pages that  link to  a specified page Example:  link:www.crimelibrary.com  –site:crimelibrary.com
Can you trust this site?
Answer These Questions Who provided this information? What tells me for sure it came from  that  source? Who is that source,  really? Do they have a bias or an agenda? When was this last updated? Is it  too old  to trust?
Investigate the Source Look for an “About” page Look for a date; be vigilant if it is  today’s  date! (That probably  does not mean  it was updated today) Google the full name (in quotes) of the person or organization whose name appears on the page (as author) E-mail or phone the source!
Original Domains .com .net .org .edu .gov .mil .int In the 1980s, seven generic top-level domains ( TLDs ) were created for the Internet. Domain names may be  registered  in  three  of these (.com, .net and .org)  without restriction . The other  four  have limited purposes. Source -- http://www.icann.org/tlds/
“New” Domains .biz .info .name .pro .aero .coop .museum Seven additional TLDs were introduced in 2001 and 2002.  Four of the new TLDs (.biz, .info, .name and .pro) are  unsponsored .  The other three new TLDs (.aero, .coop and .museum) are  sponsored . Source -- http://www.icann.org/tlds/
Country Code Domains .us .mx .ca .cn .in .ch .tv < ??? Known as country code top-level domains ( ccTLDs ) these are controlled by the  registrars  of the individual countries. Look them up at  iana.org
Country Code Domains .us .mx .ca .cn .in .ch .tv < Tuvalu Population: 11,810 (July 2006 est.)
.tv > Tuvalu
Open Directory & The Wayback Machine
Open Directory (dmoz)
Open Directory (dmoz)
Open Directory (dmoz)
Open Directory (dmoz)
Open Directory (dmoz)
Open Directory vs. Google
Open Directory vs. Google
Internet Archive / Wayback Machine
Internet Archive / Wayback Machine
Wayback Machine: NYTimes 1996
Wayback Machine: NYTimes 1999
Wayback Machine: NYTimes 2001
Other Great Starting Places for Online Research
PowerReporting.com
CIA World Factbook
CIA World Factbook
Wikipedia: Not What You Think
Wikipedia: Links at the Bottom!
Wikipedia: More Links!
Health info: NIH, CDC, WHO
Blog Searches
Search in: Blog posts
Scan results for interest
Scan results for interest
Open blog post and scan it
Open blog post and scan it
Benefit from blogger’s expertise
Benefit from blogger’s expertise
Google Blog Search
Results Sorted by Relevance
Results Sorted by Date
Using blogs to find good info Who is the blogger? What are his or her qualifications? These matter if you want to  quote  the blogger (as an authority) However, if the blog simply  points you  to another site … And  that site  turns out to be great …
You can trust the Internet … …  if  you use your powers of critical thinking! If it looks “sketchy,” unprofessional – then be very skeptical! If it looks okay,  check out the source! Go behind the scenes Find out who  wrote  it Find out who  sponsored  it Find out  how old  it is
Thank You! Presentation by Mindy McAdams University of Florida Links to all resources are on one page (click this text)

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