Effective Internet Search…
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Effective Internet Search: Basic Tools and Advanced Strategies
Video Worksheet
Access the video: www.worwic.edu >> Quick Links >> Library Services >> Research Databases by Subject
>> Videos >> Films on Demand >> In the search box, type 43788, press Enter. In the search results, click
the link for the video “Effective Internet Search: Basic Tools and Advanced Strategies”. If desired, click
full screen view then click play.
1. What are the three types of Internet research introduced in the video?
a
Individual facts or data
b
Report or review
c
Analysis
2. Before starting to search for information on the Web, what steps should you to take to help
you search effectively?
Step
a
Analyze the topic: Ask who, what, where, when, and how and determine the
best research method (from #1 above) to use to answer those questions.
b
Brainstorm: free writing, lists, outlines, use or mind-mapping to identify
keywords.
c
Formulate questions that you want to answer. Construct a research plan based
on the questions and focusing on the keywords you have identified.
3. What three common forms of published content are introduced? Give example(s) or
description of each.
Content
Examples
1
Popular
Entertainment sites, blogs, celebrity news, magazines,
newspapers
2
Scholarly
More credible. Academic journals, research articles,
reviews written by experts
3
Trade
Combine popular and scholarly techniques to focus on a
specific topic or trade. Sites dedicated to a specific
profession or hobby, content from experts
Effective Internet Search…
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4. What are the three different kinds of sources? Give example(s) or description of each.
Source
Example(s) / Description
1
Primary
Unaltered, first person narratives and content. Speeches,
interviews, letters, diaries, photographs, manuscripts, emails, official records or court documents.
2
Secondary
Interpret raw material and primary sources. Critiques,
reviews, magazines, journals, newspapers, books,
histories, textbooks, summaries.
3
Tertiary
Lists of compiled secondary sources. Bibliographies,
encyclopedias, indexes.
5. What are keywords? After the video is over, also define stems and synonyms.
Nouns and objects related to the topic. Names, titles, numbers, dates, quotations
From Merriam-Webster:
 Stems: the part of an inflected word that remains after the inflected part is
removed <strength is the stem of strengths>
 Synonyms: words or expressions of the same language that have the same or
nearly the same meaning in some or all senses
6. If you are looking for scholarly material, where’s a good place to start?
Library Databases
7. What are the four different types of Web search engines?
Search Engine
1
Crawler based (Google/Yahoo!). Compile listings automatically.
2
Directories. Human editors compile listings.
3
Specialty. Give results from one type of website (blogs, government websites,
travel sites, etc…)
4
Meta Search (Dogpile, Webcrawler). Combine results from other search
engines.
8. How can you search for an exact phrase?
Use quotations
Effective Internet Search…
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9. What four Boolean operators are introduced in the video and do they narrow or broaden a
search?
Operator
Check one
1 AND
Narrow
Broaden
2 OR
Narrow
Broaden
3 NOT
Narrow
Broaden
4 NEAR
Narrow
Broaden
10. What does the asterisk (*) do?
Search for alternate forms of a word.
11. What does the tilde (~) do?
Search for synonyms
12. What should you look for to help assess the credibility of a source?
Is the site published by a reputable source?
Is the author an expert?
Is there contact information or credentials for the author?
Is the site up to date?
Is the information relevant and accurate?
Does the site look professional?
Is the site grammatically correct and free of spelling errors?
Is there a bibliography or list of references?