Searching the Internet and Web Evaluation

Google Advanced Search and Power Search Commands
Evaluating Websites: question what you find
Sweet Search – a search engine created for students by teachers and researchers that returns only reliable results!

Remember that your first stop for reputable sources is always from our List of Databases. Try their Advanced Search and look for the database’s Help and Search Strategies sections.

Google Advanced Search	Consider using advanced search functions when searching the Net by setting the following functions.► Be sure to use reliable websites. For tips on evaluating websites see Green Guide (from earlhaig.ca/library): p 30-31
Use a variety of related Keywords in your search	Search NYPL (left panel “Topics“, “Show more…“) to help find related keywords. (Ex: Canadian Law, legislation, constitution)
Try variations (singular/plural) or synonyms of the keyword	law, legal genes > genetic > chromosomes > DNA Middle Ages > Medieval
all these words: (enclose in ” “)	List and the topics separated by a space (equivalent to using quotation marks) “Life of Pi” This search will find the exact phrase “Life of Pi” and not all the sites with “life” and “Pi”
site or domain:(site: ____ )	Restrict to a university domain (utoronto.ca, yorku.ca, harvard.edu) to hone in on academic sites. Be sure to check the URL for ~ which may indicate a student (rather than professor) page. site:utoronto.ca
File type:	Try for more official docs (e.g., filetype:pdf)
Boolean commands (AND, OR, NOT)	Canada AND law NOT “British Columbia” Shakespeare AND tragedy NOT “Romeo and Juliet”