Knowing data-mine the Internet is half the battle.
The Internet is one of humanity's greatest inventions, since it allows for fast retrieval of information. However, it is very much like the wild, wild west. Anybody can say anything, and separating fact from fiction becomes difficult. Knowing data mine for accurate information is the overriding goal of any serious researcher. Luckily, powerful search tools are available from many search engines.
File Extensions
First, you have to understand file extensions. Dot-com sites are commercial, or sales, sites. The information gathered may not be accurate, since sales are involved. Dot-edu sites are from educational institutions, and information comes from professional peer-reviewed sources. Dot-org sites are usually non-profit organizations, such as the Salvation Army. The information from .org sites may or may not be accurate. Dot-gov sites are from government agencies, and these are professional peer-reviewed sites as well.
Search Engine Parameters
Most search engines have parameter, or file extension, filtering. These are limitations you type in after the search term. For example if you type in "dinosaurs" and hit "search," every site will be brought up, from .com sites that sell plastic dinosaurs to sites from universities. However, if you type in "dinosaurs site:.edu" (without the quotation marks) only educational sites will be displayed. If you type "dinosaurs site:.org" only organizational sites will be brought up. If you type "dinosaurs site.gov," only government institutions will be brought up. The key point is to type "site.xxx" after your search term, with xxx being replaced by .edu, .org or .gov, depending on which type of site you want. Google uses this, as do many other search engines.
Advanced Parameters
Beyond just the file extension, you can search for specific terms. For example, you may be looking for Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. If you just type in "I have a dream" without the quotation marks the search engine will bring up hundreds of thousands of sites, from dream interpretation websites to entrepreneurial websites. If you type in "I have a dream" with the quotation marks, the search engine will bring up only sites that have the exact phrase "I have a dream" within the text. If you type in "I have a dream" site:.edu, the search engine will bring up only sites that have "I have a dream" in the text, from only educational institutions.
Tags: have dream, sites from, type dinosaurs, dinosaurs site, engine will, engine will bring