1. Evaluating Websites

2. Choosing a search engine
First, choose a search engine, or a search site. A search engine is a Web site that is like a catalog of the Web. Just as a library catalog helps you to find books, a search engine helps you to find Web sites. This search engine can help you find many useful Web sites.

3. Enter key words
Most search engines ask you to type in a key word or words to describe your topic. Google automatically assumes the word "and" between all the words in your query. That is, if you enter two words, Google assumes you're looking for pages that include both those words—word one and word two.

4. EXPAND YOUR SEARCH
You can expand your search by looking for web pages that include either one word or another, but not necessarily both. To do this, you need to alter the default Google query by using the OR operator between the two words. For example, to search for both dogs and cats, you can write Dogs Cats To search for either dogs or cats but not dogs and cats together, you can write Dogs OR Cats The OR operator must be in uppercase, or Google will ignore it as a stop word, which we'll discuss next.

5. WHAT ARE STOP WORDS?
Google ignores stop words, such as "and," "the," "where," "how," "what," and "or" (in all lowercase) Google also ignores single digits and single letters, such as the letter "a". If you searched ‘How a transmission works’, Google would interpret it as ‘transmission works’ If you need to include a stop word, you can make sure Google recognises it by using the + operator For example, to include the word "how" in your query, you'd enter +how transmission works

6. USING SIMILAR WORDS
Sometimes there are lots of different ways to describe what you are looking for. In this instance, you can look for words that are similar to the keyword that you entered. You can do this by entering the ~ operator. Google will then search for all pages that include that word and all appropriate synonyms. For example, to search for words that are like the word "elderly," enter the query ~elderly This finds pages that include not just the word "elderly," but also the words "senior," "aged," "nursing homes," and so on.

7. FINDING SIMILAR WEBSITES
Sometimes you find a web page that includes some of the information you're looking for but not all of it, and you need to find other similar web pages to fill in the gaps. The related: operator displays web pages that are in some way similar to the specified page. For example, if you've found good information about wildlife on the National Geographic website, you can find similar sites by enter the query related:

8. EXACT PHRASES
Sometimes what you're searching for isn't described by list keywords; instead, it's an exact phrase. Google might return results including the phrase, but it will also return results that include all those words—but not necessarily in that exact order. If you wanted to results that were only about the movie Star Wars, you would need to write “Star Wars” This will limit the results to just pages about the sci-fi epic.

9. EVALUATING A WEBSITE
Once you have found your website, you need to evaluate whether the information on the site will be accurate and unbiased. There are many questions you can ask yourself to help you determine this. Who created the site? Institutions such as government agencies and museums often provide more accurate and objective information than individuals do. If the author is an individual, can you tell whether that person is an expert in the field or just someone interested in the topic? One way to find out may be to see what else, if anything, the author has written.

10. The URL
Just looking at the address of a website can give a lot of insight to how much value it has. The extension at the end of the website (example .com) indicates what category the website falls under. .org: An advocacy website, such as a not-for-profit organization. .com: A business or commercial site. .net: A site from a network organization or an Internet service provider.; .edu: A site affiliated with a higher education institution. .gov: A federal government site. .sa.gov: A state government site, this may also include public schools and community colleges. .uk (United Kingdom) : A site originating in another country (as indicated by the 2 letter code)

11. EVALUATING A WEBSITE
What is the purpose of the site? Is it designed to educate, to entertain, or to sell something? If the site is designed to promote a product or a specific point of view, the information on it may be biased or incomplete. Can you find the same information on any other sites? Just as you should use more than one book when doing research, you should check facts from the Web by looking at more than one site.

12. EVALUATING A WEBSITE
When was it written, and why does that date matter? Who authored the article, web page or resource? Does a web search of the author bring up a biography? What have they done that makes them an expert? Who is the target audience of the article?

13. EVALUATING A WEBSITE
If the article is located in a setting in which commenting is enabled, what insights can you gain through reading the comments? What points are being argued or elaborated? What perspectives does the author represent? What does the author use to support their perspective? What biases might the author have regarding this topic? How does this impact what is being said? Have other credible people/sources referenced this author/source?

14. CREATE A LIST OF REFERENCES
Once you have collated your information using a wide selection of reliable resources, you should have a long list of websites that you now need to correctly reference.