Using the Web for Research

Some General Sites:

Self-Guided Tour of the Library's Web Page

Comparing Search Engines--The web is huge, and the amount of information available is overwhelming. Search engines can help you locate information you need, but the different search engines perform different kinds of searches. Knowing the difference between the search engines can make your searching much more effective. The following sites help you pick the search engine that will best help you find the information you need.

How to Search the Web
How to Choose the Search Tools You Need
The Search is Over
The Penn Library Search Tools Site
Meta Search Sites--Penn Library's list of search engines that search search engines
Meta-Search Engines

Using Search Engines Effectively--Once you have decided on a search engine to use, you need to consider how to go about using it. Most search engines provide on-the-site information about the commands and strategies you can use. In addition, the General Sites listed above contain good advise, as do the following links.

Citing Web Sources

American Psychological Association (APA) Style
Bibliographic Formats for Citing Electronic Information (with good examples)
The Columbia Guide to Online Style
The Penn Library's Citation Guides page
The Modern Language Association (MLA) no longer puts their style guide on the web. But there are a number of pages put up by individuals that can get you started:

Evaluating Web Sources--The web is filled with junk, and a big part of your job as a web researcher is to filter out inaccurate or inappriate sites. These links can help you do this. (Tip from the Van Pelt Reference Desk: Never trust that a quote on the web is accurate. Always double check.)

Evaluating information found on the Internet
Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools
Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources
The Penn Library's site on Evaluating Internet Resources

Extra:

Search Engine games