Deceptive news stories (i.e. "Fake News") in social media is due to Bots (Software programs) creating phony IDS that "like" or link to these sources. However, search engines have been manipulated this way since the birth of the internet. Deceptive, phony, and racist websites have often appeared in the top of search results such as Google. It is why you MUST look at public websites with SCRUTINY. NOTE: If a student insists on still using Google, ask them to 1) Download Lean Library as an extension to their browser on their laptop or desktop and 2) Follow the instructions on Smart Searching at the bottom of this page.
Public WWW Sites Selected by Librarians
Smart Searching Google
1. Log out of Igoogle or Gmail if you're logged on (otherwise you're in the filtered bubble)
2. Phrases always in quotation marks.
3. At Search Results page, always select the gear icon on the top right and select Advanced.
4. In Advanced, Enter more terms in the top bars.
5. Limit by domain (such as .edu, .gov or .org) OR limit by file type (such as .PDF)
You should NEVER have to go through millions of results ever again.
In general:
1. I Feel Lucky is NEVER an option for a true researcher.
2. Search Google with your Google profile turned off (Email, Igoogle, Google Docs, etc.)
3. Wikipedia entries-- only useful if you look at and evaluate what the sources are for the entry. Wikipedia by itself is NOT reliable.
4. Avoid ads (shaded portions, right side entries, etc.)
