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. Remember, using quotations around a phrase will search for those exact words in the same order. Without quotes, the search will look for pages that contain those words, but not necessarily together and in that order.

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 ...or any other site that you find on my Research Page.

4. Check out the links on the Research Page of Macspage.com. '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 get your info from websites that are not from Macspage.com, you must get my approval or fill out the Website Evaluation Handout to evaluate your sources and turn it in with your bibliography.