UPDATE (5/20/26 @ 7:30am AZ time):
The GCU Library's updated version of LopeCat, the library’s online catalog, is live! For more details on what has changed, visit the What's New Guide .
Search Skills: Internet Search Tips
Searching on the Internet
When to Use Websites
Starting with a general Google search can be a useful step in locating background information on your topic and finding keywords.
Websites are the place to locate:
- Government information.
- Government statistical sources, like the Bureau of Labor Statistics or the Census Bureau.
- Educational standards.
- Credential, license, or certification requirements.
- Official corporate information, such as mission statements and annual reports.
- Professional organizations & associations.
- News and current events.
- Images .
Advanced Searching in Google
- Quality:
- When using webpages or documents for research, the number one thing to consider is the quality of the source- you want to be sure to use information that is from a reliable and authoritative source.
- Domain Searching:
- When searching with Google, you can limit your searches to specific kinds of sites, for example:
.gov
You can enter your keywords directly into the search box followed by the words: site:[domain] no space between "site:" and domain (.edu or .gov). Make sure to include the period between the colon and domain.
Examples:
OR
academic standards site:.edu
- Make sure you have identified any source you use.
- Phrase Searching and Forced Inclusion:
- "Quote marks" can be used to group words together as a phrase.
- Quote marks around a single word requires that exact word to appear.
- By default search engines like Google search similar words or give results that only match some words.
Identifying Internet Sources
Is it a webpage?
- Many things found on the internet aren't just webpages. You may find articles, books, professional and governmental publications, and many other types of information.
- Identifying what kind of source you are looking at is important for creating correct citations and evaluating the source.
Signs it's not just a webpage:
- It can be downloaded as a complete document.
- PDFs and Word docs are the most common, but you may also see Excel or PowerPoint.
- There's publication information, such as issue or volume number.
- It's an article on a news website--these are considered news articles.
Example: A CDC Infographic
Notice the page ends in PDF. A PDF is a type of file. These are frequently stand alone--that is, you could print off this document and hand it out, and it would make sense on its own, as well as show all the information needed to cite it.
At the bottom, You can locate more information needed to cite this information:
Its original location and a document number--which you will often find on Government official publications.
In APA this item is going to follow the format for a government publication, AKA a government report:
Format:
Organization name.(Year). Title of report (Publication No. xx). http://...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). The food production chain (CS280841-A). https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/pdfs/food-production-chain_FINAL.pdf
Whose Website Is It?
Reading a URL:
- The three letters at the end of a URL are a top-level domain.
- Two letter codes are for country markers. They do not mean anything other than the location of the site owner.
- Domains can be restricted or unrestricted:
- Restricted domains can only be used by sites that have verified they fit the rules.
- .gov: Official Federal, state, or local government sites.
- .edu: Educational institutes, colleges, and universities.
- .mil: US military only.
- There are rarer new top-level restricted domains: .name for public figures, .pro for licensed professionals, and .biz for licensed businesses.
- Unrestricted domains can be registered by anyone.
- .com, .info, .net.
- .org: This has no restrictions!
- Restricted domains can only be used by sites that have verified they fit the rules.
Using Google Search's "About This Result" Tool
- Next to a search result, click the three dots.
- The popup provides a quick look at what other sites say about the linked site.
Building Citations for Digital Sources Outside the Library
Building the reference is one of the best ways to check what kind of source you have found.
For internet sources outside the library, you will need to build the reference from the source on your own. These are some of the most common types of sources found on the internet. More source types and examples can be found on the Citing Sources guides .
Locating Citation Information in a Book
Some ebooks and all print books do not have citation tools. You can locate citation information in the catalog or in the book itself.
In a print book, the information will be on the title page and the copyright page, which is usually the page after the title page. Many free online digital books will include scans of the title page as in this one from Project Gutenberg. A title page like this is a sign of a book or book-like item such as a report.
You will need:
- Title.This book is a volume in a series, and the volume has its own title, so the full title (typed here in APA Style) is: Systematic theology: A compendium and common-place book designed for the use of theological students: Vol. 1. The doctrine of God.
- Author.Augustus Hopkins Strong
- Date.1907
- Location. This is a free ebook, so you will need the URL where it can be found online: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44035
Streaming Video
YouTube is the source you will most often need to write a citation for.
You will need to locate:
- The username/screenname: this is the name of the posting channel. APA treats this as the author.
- The title.
- The date the video was uploaded.
- The URL/Link.
Websites and Webpages
Many websites will not list individual authors.
- For ALL government, association, or company official sites, if there is no individual person's name, use the name of the group as the author.
- If there is an author listed, include it. This article from Starbucks is an example of the kind of corporate information that can have an author and might come up in an assignment.
For websites you will need to find:
- An author, even if it is a group name like American Nurses Association.
- A title--whatever is the most logical.
- A date if there is one--dates may be missing!
- The URL/address--take this directly from your address bar.
Some items on websites are not webpage sources.
- Watch for magazine articles in particular, which are often online but are not cited as webpages
Reports and Other Government Documents
Most government publications are cited as a stand-alone document. The vast majority of government publications appear online on agency websites. These are called 'gray literature', and can be helpful sources for many assignments. Examples of common government documents that you may use for papers include the SAMHSA Treatment Improvement Protocols for counseling, statistical information from the CDC, BLS, or Census Bureau, guidelines from the DOE, or reports from the EPA. Basic information from many government sites is cited as a webpage, but if the source can be downloaded (as a PDF for example), it is probably cited as a report.
One defining feature of agency reports is that they usually have a standardized number, called a report number or publication number.
Two examples of government publications are below.
- A Treatment Improvement Protocol from SAMHSA:
- An Infographic
Even short items like this infographic from the CDC can have assigned publication numbers:
Note the publication number at the bottom:
Getting Started With Research:
