Skip to main content
LibApps staff login

Graduate Writing Camp

Thesis and dissertation writing help

Web Searching Tips

When using web pages or documents for university research, you want to find quality sources, ones that are reliable and authoritative. Below are some tips for using the internet search engine Google to help you find quality sources. As you select your sources, you will need to examine them with a critical eye.

Google Advance Search  (under Settings) 

Domain Searching
With the Google Advanced Search you can limit your searches to specific kinds of sites, for example:

.org--for organizations of all kinds
.edu--for educational institutions
.gov--for government sites 

You can also enter your keywords directly into the search box followed by the command site:[domain] no space between "site:" and domain (edu or gov).  

Examples (copy and paste in the search box):

immigrants "health care" site:gov
immigrants "health care" site:edu

Generally speaking, pages and documents from the kinds of sites listed above are more acceptable for university and "serious" research. Be warned - .org is no longer limited to just Not-For-Profit organizations. It may be used by anyone - beware of organizations you don't recognize or that appear to be selling a lot of products.

The ASU Library acknowledges the twenty-three Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University's four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today. ASU Library acknowledges the sovereignty of these nations and seeks to foster an environment of success and possibility for Native American students and patrons. We are advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice. ASU Library welcomes members of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh, and all Native nations to the Library.