Verify all information you find on the internet! Just because it is published on the internet does not mean that the information is accurate. Inaccuracies could be the result of intentional deception, or human error. Just because the site has a .org or .edu address, or because a person's name is on the site, is no guarantee that the information is correct. You must verify the accuracy of all information you find

Not everything on the internet is free! Some information may require you to pay for a service. Other sites may require you to register for their site before they let you view content. While some sites, such as the New York Times website, requires registration but will not divulge your information, other sites may take your information and sell it to others, or flood your e-mail box with advertisements you don't want. Consider registering a free e-mail account at a service such as Hotmail that you will use just for website registration purposes, and always ask your parents before you divulge personal information to anyone on the internet. You may also want to check and see if that site has a posted privacy statement.

Use multiple searching techniques while on the internet. When using a particular search engine, find out how that engine handles "queries." If you need to refine your search, see if you can use the words AND, OR, NOT, or use symbols such as quotation marks and parentheses. Also, think of different words you can use to search for items

Remember, there's no "lifeguard" on duty when you're "surfing." What that means is that the internet largely remains unmonitored, and some sites contain content that is inappropriate, or worse, illegal. A person using the internet can quickly and easily find themselves in a website they should not be in. To avoid this, consider using features of the popular search engines that filter results and exclude these sites

Make sure you watch your time when using the internet. You can quickly move from "searching" the internet to "surfing" the internet if you are not careful. While there is a lot of information posted, you don't want to get buried by information that has nothing to do with your original question. Consider turning off instant messaging software and only following links related to your original query

Be prepared that when you are using the internet, some information is outdated and some websites have disappeared, meaning that links to them no longer work. While this can be frustrating when a favorite website is no longer available, just remember that many new websites are created each day that will fill the void

Don't assume that sending an e-mail to a site owner will necessarily get you a rapid, or informative, response. Many websites are run by volunteers or non-profit groups, and many are run by a single individual. Some website owners have not updated their site for a while and may have abandoned it altogether, minimizing the likelihood they will respond to an e-mail question. Others may not check their e-mail frequently, and don't assume that just because a person has a website, they will be able to answer every question you might ask them.

Online resources exist beyond just websites. Besides organizations, there are many databases that contain a plethora of high-quality material. Many of these are subscription based, however, if you attend a school or have a valid community library card, many of these resources are available to you for free. Make sure you check with your librarian(s) to see which resources are available to you

Don't forget about off-line resources. While the internet is a great tool, it has not been around for very long and researchers used other tools for hundreds of years to gather information. Go to your library and ask the Reference Librarian for help with a question you might have. They are trained to help guide you to what sources of information (including the internet) exist and where you can get them

Search Tools for Students:

Google, located at http://www.google.com, is currently considered the leading search engine on the internet, and has indexed more pages than any other search engine in existence.

Altavista, located at http://www.altavista.com, is another large search engine that has the added feature of being able to translate websites between multiple languages

Teoma, located at http://www.teoma.com/, is a search tool that returns relevant results from your search, suggestions on how to refine your search, and links to resources, all at the same time

Yahoo!, located at http://www.yahoo.com, is the oldest Web Directory in existence. Its staff categorizes websites based on certain criteria, eliminating the need for a keyword search

Dogpile, located at http://www.dogpile.com, is a great metacrawler. Typing in a search term in Dogpile will result in the site giving you results from multiple search engines at the same time