Types of Internet Sources

Students can find a plethora of information online from databases (often accessed through the library), websites, blogs, discussion boards, email-based interviews, and other media-based sources like online news publications, podcasts, videos, and vlogs, to name a few.

DATABASES:

These offer the ability to choose from peer reviewed articles, full-text articles, and limit publication dates. The Greene County Library Links to an external site. has a large database, and our own Willard High School library Links to an external site. subscribes to many publications as well. Academic Search Premier is one of the best choices, offering a wide range of publication topics and formats. Jill and Brandon are excellent resources when it comes to helping students navigate these databases!

INTERNET SEARCHES:

analytics_seo_web_search_optimization_website_traffic_data_webpage_analysis_marketing_chart_research_flat_design_icon-512.png Students can search terms, and even ask questions, to begin to narrow down content on the Internet. General search engines like Google and Yahoo are not the only options. To yield better results, students can:

Use Boolean operators Links to an external site. when they search.
Use the Tools function in the search window to limit time period of publication

Addtionally, students can search multiple search engines at one time using sites like Dogpile Links to an external site. or Metacrawler Links to an external site.. They can also search web directories Links to an external site., which categorize internet content by topic. Students can also search the "deep web" or the invisible web by using any of the sites outlined in this great resource Links to an external site. from Purdue OWL. These links will return results that search engines will not typically find.

Resources with certain types of domain endings were once believed to be more reliable than others; this simply is not the case. Anyone can register for .com, .org. or .net sites, and just because a .gov or .edu site is generally tied to education or government does not guarantee credibility. Thus students HAVE TO EVALUATE their sources. Continue to the next page for tips for guiding students in such critical thinking.