The World Wide Web is an enormous and constantly growing collection of documents and other media stored on over 5 million Web sites around the globe and connected together by the Internet (a gigantic network of networks). Increasingly, most of the Web content available over the Internet is stored in databases that are "invisible" to conventional search engines. Spiders, the programs that search engines use to index Web pages, can't "see" into these databases and, hence, can't index their content. Estimates place the invisible Web at approximately 550 billion pages, while the visible Web (the index-able portion of the Web) accounts for just over 1 billion pages, with about another million pages added daily.

Obviously, conducting research using the Internet is a daunting task. Nonetheless, you vastly increase the chances of finding the information you want by using an effective Internet research strategy that takes into account the visible and invisible Web, along with understanding how to evaluate the quality of online information. In addition, you need to be aware of how copyright, Fair Use, and intellectual property apply to online (digital) content and how to properly cite online information.

The following steps provide an effective means to search the Internet:

1. Define your topic. State what you are looking for in the form of question (e.g., What information is available about developing online discussions?)
2. Identify key words and phrases in your search question. Good keywords typically include nouns, adjectives, and verbs (e.g., "information" "developing"). Next, identify synonyms for your keywords (e.g., "instructions" and "tutorial" are synonyms for "information"). Finally, isolate key phrases with quotes (e.g., "online discussions"). 
3. Construct a simple or complex search statement. A simple search statement is composed of just keywords or phrases, while a complex search statement combines key words and phrases, along with Boolean operators. Boolean operators, such AND, OR, AND NOT, let you narrow, expand, or restrict your search, respectively. For example, the complex search statement: ((information OR instructions OR tutorial) AND (develop OR construct OR create) AND "online discussions")) will retrieve documents with the exact phrase "online discussions" and one or more of the keywords "information" or "instructions" or "tutorial," and one or more of the keywords "develop" or "construct" or "create."
4. Choose the best search tool and technique. Use the table below as a guide in selecting the best search tool for purposes.
5. Perform your query or browse by subject. If you have decided to use a search or metasearch engine, enter your search query using the correct search form. Search engines typically display a "basic" search form. Unfortunately, some basic search forms don't support complex search queries (i.e., searches with Boolean operators). Check the help facility of the search engine to determine support for Boolean operators. You may need to use the search engine's "advanced" search form. (Tip: Most popular search engines provide controls in their advanced search forms that automatically perform the same functions as manually entered Boolean operators. You can use the search engines Help facility to learn how to take advantage of these Boolean controls.)
6. Evaluate the results. Use the criteria listed in the next section for evaluating the quality of information. The quality of search results will very depending on how well you constructed your search statement and the search tool employed. (Identical queries on various search engines will produce varying results because each engine index different portions of the Internet over different periods of time).
7. Refine your search. Depending on the quality of your search results, you may have to repeat Steps 1 through 6 until you find the information you want.

Use the follow criteria to evaluate the quality of your Internet research results:

• Organization. Who is the publisher of the information? Is the Web site referenced by other reputable organizations?  Who is hosting the Web site (e.g., a government agency, educational institution, or well-known company)?
• Authority. Is the author a recognized expert in the field? What credentials does the author have for writing about the topic? Use an intelligent search agent and periodic listings to check what else the author has written on your topic.
• Intended Audience. Why did the author write this work and who is aimed toward? Is it written in an academic or casual style?
• Date of publication. How current is the information? When was it last updated? Does the material appear to cover current issues surrounding your topic? Are there many broken links? Dead links can indicate the information is out of date.
• Objectivity and Accuracy. Does the author have an obvious bias about the topic and, if so, does he or she admit it? Are there obvious factual errors?
• Scope. What range of topics does the Web site cover? What are the limits of the scope and are they clearly indicated?
• Bibliography. Does the author provide endnotes and footnotes, documenting key assertions? Are links to resource material included?
• Quality of Web site design. Does the Web site look professionally designed? Is it well organized? Can navigate around it easily?

You should assume that everything you find on the Internet is copyrighted. That means it is someone else's intellectual property. In the academic world, you can generally use a portion or sometimes all the material you find on the Internet under the “Fair Use” exemption to the copyright law. However, Congress and the courts are constantly changing the copyright law pertaining to digital content. So, you must stay up-to-date with the latest information about Fair Use of Internet (digital) content. 

In academia, you also have to be concerned about plagiarism and properly citing sources. The references below provide information about copyrights and plagiarism. The next section deals with citing the source of the material you use.

• Copyright Intro (Templeton)
• U.S. Copyright Office
• Plagiarism (Indiana U)
• Plagiarism (Purdue)

The Internet has been around long enough now that citation formats, style guides that standardize how citations are written, have become well established. Two most widely used citation formats are those of the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA). These style guides have different citation formats for the various types of Internet information, from Web pages to newsgroup postings.

You can use the following resources to learn more about how to properly cite online information for your discipline:

• APA electronic references
• Columbia Guide to Online Style