Library Research Guide
Google can be a very helpful tool, but it can also bring back an overwhelming amount of information. It can be difficult and time consuming to separate the good information from the lousy information.
To solve this problem, control Google. Search specific websites or types of websites using the 'site:' command.
For instance, if I want to learn if the government in the U.S. is prepared for a zombie outbreak, I can do this search in Google: zombies site:.gov
Watch to learn more. Produced by K-State Libraries
There are millions of websites out there on the World Wide Web. How do you know if it's a quality web site?
Some websites seem to have all of the answers. Need to know how to French braid hair or train your dog? You can usually find a web site that provides quick and easy steps to accomplish the task. But are they reliable sources of information and are they appropriate for academic purposes? Maybe not. "Content farms" are websites that actually exist to host ads, and they get site visits by posting "articles" written in response to popular web searches. Read more about content farms below:
Heffernan, V. (2011, June 26). Google’s War on Nonsense.Opinionator. Retrieved October 24, 2011, from http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/googles-war-on-nonsense/
Web’s “Content Farms” Grow Audiences For Ads. (2011, April 21). Morning Edition. National Public Radio. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2011/04/21/135514220/webs-content-farms-grow-audiences-for-ads