Since government websites often serve as key sources of information, we frequently show Oakton students how to restrict their Google search results to the .gov domain. This page is primarily about Google search tips, supplemented by a SIFT evaluation strategy reminder.
The video below from a Google software engineer gives you a few valuable tips in doing searches more effectively. It will teach you - for instance - how to search only .edu or .gov sites to get better hits. See also the list of common Google search techniques shown elsewhere on this page. The "search for a specific site" technique is good for limiting your search to government sites.
You should evaluate everything, not just things you find on the internet. For instance, just because you found something in the Library doesn't mean it's the best source for your purposes. It's important to carefully and critically consider all sources you find.
While the internet can be problematic, not everything on the internet is poor quality. There are lots of excellent sources for information, like government data, journals and magazines that publish freely online, etc.
There are many ways to evaluate information. For your SPE 103 research, we recommend the method outlined on the Evaluate sources with SIFT page.
Exclude words from your search
Put - in front of a word you want to leave out.
jaguar speed -car
Search for an exact match
Put a word or phrase inside quotes.
"tallest building"
Combine searches
Put "OR" between each search query.
marathon OR race
Search for a specific site
Put "site:" in front of a site or domain extension.
site:youtube.com
site:.gov
bison site:.gov
Search for related sites
Put "related:" in front of a web address you already know.
related:time.com
See Google’s cached version of a site
Put "cache:" in front of the site address.
Important: Not all search operators return exhaustive results.
From: Refine web searches