Guide to Information on the Internet
The Internet is a vast resource of information, which can be very informative, entertaining and enriching. However, not all resources on the Internet are accurate, complete or up-to-date. There are a number of things you can look for to help you evaluate information on a web page.
Who is the author or publisher?
Information on a web page could be untrustworthy if you can't identify the author, company or organizaton that wrote it. Information from a well known organization such as the U.S. Census Bureau, American Medical Association, a Fortune 500 Company or the University of Wisconsin is often more reliable than information from a hobbyist or a special interest group.
Does the information need to be current?
Dependable sources usually have a "revised date" which tells you the last time the page was updated. If there is no date, are there a lot of "dead links" on the web site? Publishers of well maintained web sites redirect users to the new locations of web sites they link to.
Is the information objective?
Does the publisher or author have a particular viewpoint they want to endorse? For example a large oil company might present a different viewpoint on global warming than the Sierra Club. Keep in mind that information from businesses, political groups and advocacy groups are often biased towards that organization's views. If you're not sure about the organization's bias, browse through their web site and see if you can discover the purpose of the organization.
Searching the Internet for Information
The Internet can be pretty overwhelming when it comes to finding information. Search engines are a big help. Here are a few of the major search sites. Hint: most search sites include an advanced search link that will allow you to perform complex searching, and give you tips on using their site.
Yahoo
www.yahoo.com
Yahoo was one of the very first comprehensive search sites on the Internet. However, Yahoo is not a true search engine, it is a catalog of Internet sites hand selected by Yahoo staff. This makes Yahoo a good place to start if you have more of a general topic in mind for your search, (for example cooking web sites) but not as good for specific detailed information you are trying to find. Using Yahoo's categories can be especially useful for general types of searches.
Google
www.google.com
Indexing over a billion and a half web pages, Google has been around for a few years and is fast becoming the search engine of choice. It is especially useful for finding specific information. For example, if you are looking for a recipe on how to make Vegetarian Spaghetti Squash Lasagna, type that in the search box and you will get literally thousands of sites that have the recipe. Google also prioritizes search results so that web sites appearing at the top of the list are more relevant than those at the bottom. Recently Google has added a directory similar to Yahoo's (which lists web sites organized by topic into categories).
Ask Jeeves
www.ask.com
Ask Jeeves is unique in that it allows you to search by typing in a question. You don't need to use confusing symbols or search terms. You simply ask a question or name a topic in your own words and Ask Jeeves will give you a list of relevant web sites.
Librarian's Index to the Internet
www.lii.org
At the library, the librarians are the information specialists. This site has the motto "Information You Can Trust" and is a catalog of Internet sites hand selected by librarians. It is an excellent source for authoritative and reliable web sites. Here you can perform a keyword search, or browse their listings by category.
Dogpile
www.dogpile.com
Dogpile is a popular metasearch engine. When you search with a metasearch engine, you get combined results from a variety of search engines at once.
Other major search engines on the Internet can be found on the library's recommended Internet Search Engines page.