Michigan State University Libraries

MSU Libraries/Web Searching FAQ

• If you want something specific like a person or organization try one of the more powerful search engines. Ask, Google or Bing are a good choice.

• For a general topic search you're usually better off in one of the selective sites like the Librarian's Internet Index, or the Internet Public Library. Even selective sites don't guarantee the reliability of their links, but they do weed out the least reliable and most duplicative.

• For comparative information about search engines, go to Search Engine Showdown, Search Engine Watch, or How to Choose a Search Engine

• Reread the assignment. Few instructors will take a paper done exclusively from the web.

• Check the sponsors of the pages you will rely on. Are they reputable sources? You'd never hand in a research paper based solely on interviews with the people in your dorm, but most of them also have web pages. Whose authority are you relying on? Is the presentation balanced?

• For reliable full text, information that doesn't require a trip to the Libraries: MSU has a lot of proprietary information (owned by others, but we subscribe to it) posted on the web, try:
  • FirstSearch --
    select the WilsonSelectPlus database for full text articles.

  • Academic OneFile has many full text articles.

  • ProQuest Research Library --
    most databases within this service have a substantial proportion of full text articles.

  • Lexis/Nexis Academic also offers full text for most of its databases, which focus on news and legal information.

  • Or, if you know the journal you need, the Library's catalog lists our electronic journal subscriptions by journal title.

• If the author of the page is listed (usually at the bottom), use that name where you would list the author.

• The page title appears at the top of most browsers. For example, the title of this page is MSU Libraries/Web Searching FAQ.

• Use the URL (web address) where you would put the place of publication and publisher of a printed source.

• Several sites offer more detailed help. See the list of Citation Format Resources .

• Make your search narrower. Your topic may be too broad. A search for teaching will return lots of hits in most search engines. Limit your topic by choosing an aspect to focus on. Type +teaching +mathematics (a + sign requires that the word be present on the pages found) or "student teaching" ("quotes" make the search a phrase search).

• Search words unique to your topic. If you are expressing your search in common words you can get a lot of results that are not relevant. For example, if you are interested in "Ford Motor Company" search in that way, using "quotes" around the phrase and you'll get better results than you would with a search for Ford automobiles manufacturing.

• If you can't think of unique words, try the search in Clusty a search engine that groups results by concept.

• Use a selective listing. Go to the Librarians' Internet Index to do your search or work your way through the subject listings until you find a page with just a few good links for your topic.

• You can start with ProQuest or WilsonSelectPlus. In ProQuest there is a box to check for "Scholarly journals, including peer-reviewed." In WilsonSelectPlus, when you click on the title of an article in your results list, the citation will tell you if the journal is peer reviewed. (For more details see the web page on Research and Scholarly Journal Information.)

• Use the Libraries' other indexes. Go to one of the Getting Started pages to select an appropriate index, or contact the Libraries by phone, 517 432-6123 or online for assistance.