Navigating the Web: Using Search Tools and Evaluating Resources

Topics

• Getting Connected
• Search Tools
• Evaluating Web Sites
• Citing Electronic Sources

Getting Connected

• From off campus, UW students, staff, and faculty can access UW restricted resources:
  • UW Libraries Proxy Service: http://offcampus.lib.washington.edu/login?url=http://healthlinks.washington.edu
    Use with an existing Internet connection. Requires UWNetID to log in.
  • UW Internet Connectivity Kit (UWICK): http://www.washington.edu/computing/software/uwick/
    Provides all necessary software to connect to the Internet. Once software is installed, no log in is required.
• On campus, contact your departmental computer support person if you have questions.
• For questions about connecting to library resources, contact your library liaison.

Search Tools

How big is the Web?

• Size of the Web: over 2 billion pages
• The Web grows by 7.3 million pages a day
• Combined coverage of eleven major search engines is 42% of the Web
• No individual search engine covers more than 16% of the Web
• Overlap between individual search engines is low, with approximately 40% of a given search engine's content unique
• The biggest search engine is Google, with over 4.3 billion pages fully indexed

How do I find Web sites?

• For known sites, follow links or type in a Web site address, also known as a Uniform Resource Locator or URL.
• Make an educated guess about what the URL might be:
  • All Web addresses start with http://
  • Many addresses include www first
  • Use the name or acronym of the company or organization in the middle
  • Add the appropriate top level domain:
    • edu for educational sites
    • gov for US government sites
    • org for non-profit organizations
    • com for commercial sites
    • country codes for non-US sites, such as .cn for China
  • Separate each element with a period and add a slash at the end
  • Example: http://www.cdc.gov/
• For topical searches, use a search tool.
  • Search Engines
  • Meta-Search Engines
  • Specialized Web Guides

Search Engines

Search engines allow you to search through huge indexes of Web sites created by computer programs called robots or spiders and display results according to relevance.

Use search engines to find:

• Unique keywords or hard to find information
• Combinations of unique key words
• Pages buried deep in a Web site

Many search engines use the following search techniques. Check the search engine's HELP for specifics.

• "double quotes" for phrase searching
  • ex. "lung cancer"
• + means the word or phrase must be in your results
  • ex. +diabetes+Hispanics
• * to find pages containing all forms of a truncated word
  • ex. postop* (searches for postoperative, postoperating, etc.)

Examples

• Google: http://www.google.com/
  • Google automatically ANDs terms together
  • semi-automatic phrase searching or use "double quotes"
  • relevance ranking based on link analysis
  • includes cached pages and images
  • use Advanced Search for better results
• Yahoo!: http://www.yahoo.com/
  • Yahoo automatically ANDs terms together
  • phrase searching or use "double quotes"
  • relevance ranking based on a number of factors including page text, metadata, associated links, and other unique document characteristics
  • includes cached pages and images
  • use Advanced Search options for better results
• AltaVista: http://www.altavista.com/
  • Alta Vista automatically ANDs terms together
  • semi-automatic phrase searching or use "double quotes"
• AlltheWeb: http://www.alltheweb.com/
  • AlltheWeb automatically ANDs terms together
  • phrase searching or use "double quotes"
  • includes images
  • use Advanced Search options for better results

How to Find Search Engines

• Specialty Search Engines
  http://searchenginewatch.com/links/article.php/2156351

Meta-Search Engines

Meta-search engines allow you to send searches to more than one search engine at a time.

Examples

• MetaCrawler: http://www.metacrawler.com/
• DogPile: http://www.dogpile.com/
• Vivisimo - clusters results to enhance relevancy

How to Find Meta-search Engines

• Yahoo: All In One Search Pages
  http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/
  Searching_the_Web/Search_Engines_and_Directories/All_in_One_Search_Pages/

Specialized Web Guides

Specialized Web guides are comprehensive directories to Web sites on a particular topic.

Examples

• OncoLink
  http://oncolink.upenn.edu/
• HealthWeb
  http://www.healthweb.org/

How to Find Specialized Web Guides

• HealthLinks Topics A to Z
  http://healthlinks.washington.edu/clinical/
• Yahoo
  http://www.yahoo.com/

Tips and Strategies

• Carefully choose your browser's starting page so it contains links to relevent Web sites. We recommend using HealthLinks: http://healthlinks.washington.edu/
  To change your starting page:
  • Mozilla
    • Edit > Preferences > Click on Navigator > Type the web page address in the Location text box
  • Internet Explorer
    • Tools > Internet Options > General Tab > Type the web page address in the Address text box
• Create Favorites/Bookmarks and organize them into folders.
• Look for a Specialized Web Guide to your topic on HealthLinks or Yahoo.
• Know when not to search. Not all useful information is available for free, especially journal articles and some statistical information.
• If you need...
  • A few good hits fast?
    Try a metasearch engine such as DogPile. Or Google returns important, relevant hits quickly.
  • The top level site for an organization, government agency, or university?
    Try a subject directory such as Yahoo.
  • Information about current events?
    Use Yahoo to find a news site such as CNN.
  • An answer to a common question?
    Use AskJeeves.
  • An extensive search where you can refine your search strategy?
    Try Google's or AltaVista's Advanced Search.
• Pick two tools and learn them well! Read the online help to learn each tool's unique search tricks and check often for new features.
• Ask a librarian.

For More Information

• Choose the Best Search for Your Information Need Updated October 6, 2002
  http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html
• Lawrence S, Giles CL. Accessibility of information on the Web. Nature 1999 July 8;400(6740): 107-110
  http://www.nature.com/nature/ .
• Search Engine Showdown: The User's Guide to Web Searching Updated May 27, 2003
  http://www.notess.com/search/
• Search Engine Watch Updated June 24, 2003
  http://searchenginewatch.com/
• Spider's Apprentice: A Helpful Guide to Web Search Engines Updated May 17, 2002
  http://www.monash.com/spidap.html

Evaluating Web Sites

Problems with Web Sites

• Almost anyone can publish on the Web.
• It's often difficult to determine the author of a site.
• There's a lack of basic quality standards.
• Most information is unfiltered.
• The Web often functions as a soapbox.
• Users face the "garbage in, gospel out" phenomenon.

Evaluation Strategies

Web sites should be evaluated similarly to print resources.

• Evaluate using the Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites checklist.
• Determine the type of site by analyzing Web Site Addresses.

Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites

This checklist is also available as a one-page pdf document.

• Authority
  • Is the author clearly identified?
  • Are the author's credentials listed?
  • Is there an institutional affiliation?
  • What authority does the author have to write about the subject?
  • Can you easily contact the author for clarification of information?
  • Example: Smoker's Home Page
  • Example: The Smoking Section
    http://www.smokingsection.com/
• Accuracy
  • Is the information accurate?
  • Does the site offer a list of references or links to support the information presented?
  • Is the source of information clearly stated?
  • Is there an explanation of the research method used to gather data?
  • Example: MMWR
    http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwr_wk.html
• Objectivity
  • Is the purpose of the site clearly stated?
  • Is the information impartially presented?
  • Is sponsorship acknowledged?
  • Example: melatonin.com
• Coverage
  • Does the site satisfy the needs of its intended audience?
  • Is the subject coverage comprehensive?
  • Does the site offer extra features not available in other formats?
  • Example: MEDLINEplus
    http://medlineplus.gov/
  • Example: Pediatrics
    http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/
• Currency
  • Is the site current?
  • Was the site updated recently?
  • Are the links kept up-to-date?
  • Example: CNN Health
    http://www.cnn.com/health/
• Design
  • Is the site clearly organized?
  • Is there an internal search engine?
  • Is the site user friendly?
  • Can the site be accessed reliably?
  • Do visual effects enhance the resource?
  • Are there interactive features that increase usability?
  • Can the site be accessed without additional viewers or plug-ins?
  • Examples:
    • OncoLink
      http://oncolink.upenn.edu/
    • Dihydrogen Monoxide - DHMO Homepage
      http://www.dhmo.org/

Web Site Addresses

• URL
  The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) includes the name of the host computer, which can indicate the purpose of the Web site.
• Tilde
  The tilde character (~) often indicates a personal Web site.

For More Information

• Alexander J and Tate MA. Evaluating Web Resources Updated July 25, 2001
  http://www2.widener.edu/Wolfgram-Memorial-Library/webevaluation/webeval.htm
• Berland GK et al. Health information on the Internet: accessibility, quality, and readability in English and Spanish.
  JAMA 2001 May 23-30;285(20):2612-21.
• BMJ 2002 Mar 9;324(7337). Many articles in this issue devoted to the quality of health information on the internet.
• Grassian E. Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources Updated September 6, 2000
  http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/critical/ index.htm
• Health On the Net Foundation. HON Code of Conduct (HONcode) for Medical and Health Web Sites Updated April 23, 2003
  http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/Conduct.html
• Impicciatore P, et al. Reliability of health information for the public on the World Wide Web: systematic survey of advice on managing fever in children at home. BMJ 1997 Jun 28;314(7098):1875-9.
• Lansdale M. Evaluating Health Information on the Internet Updated April 21, 2002
  http://mel.lib.mi.us/health/health-evaluating.html
• McClung HJ, et al. The Internet as a source for current patient information. Pediatrics 1998 Jun;101(6):E2.
• Pandolfini C, Impicciatore P, Bonati M. Parents on the web: risks for quality management of cough in children. Pediatrics 2000 Jan; 105(1):e1.
• Winker MA, et al. Guidelines for medical and health information sites on the Internet: principles governing AMA web sites. JAMA 2000 Mar 22/29; 283(12):1600-6.

Sample Assignment #1     Sample Assignment #2

Citing Electronic Resources

• APA
  • Electronic References from the American Psychological Association
    http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html
    Authorized APA format, 2001
• MLA
  • MLA Style: How do I document sources from the World Wide Web in my works-cited list?
    http://www.mla.org/
    Authorized MLA format, May 15, 2002
• Citation and Writing Guides
  • HealthLinks Writer Toolkit
    http://healthlinks.washington.edu/writer

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Janet G. Schnall, MS, AHIP
Information Management Librarian

Library Liaison to the UW School of Nursing, Department of Pediatrics, Department of Ophthalmology, and Multicultural Affairs
schnall@u.washington.edu
http://healthlinks.washington.edu/hsl/liaisons/schnall/

Created: April 7, 1997
Revised: June 22, 2004

This page may be reprinted or adapted for academic nonprofit purposes, providing the source is accurately quoted and credited.