Research Strategies for Internet Research

1. Think about your search terms. Some research paper topics, like "William Shakespeare," will turn up tons of great hits when used as search terms. With other topics, you will have to be more creative with your search terms. For example, for a paper on Roman buildings, don't just search "Roman buildings" over and over again. Searching for more specific terms, like "Roman baths," "colosseum," "Roman villa," "Roman aqueducts" will turn up more great links.

2. Pair your search terms with "history" to focus on historical information. For example "manuscripts history" or "Alexandria history."

3. Search great, reliable sites before you Google. I will not require you to fill out the Website Evaluation Handout if you find information on the following sites (plus, they have many exciting web resources): PBS, BBC, National Geographic, Library of Congress

4. Check out the links on macspage/research. 'Nuff said!

5. Do a Google search with your search terms, adding the word "museum." This may turn up websites that are maintained by museums.

6. Use the Google advanced search feature to search for information with preferred domains: .edu, .gov, .org.

7. If you Google, you must fill out the Website Evaluation Handout to evaluate your sources!