Don't ask the search engine questions. Use specific terms instead. (For instance: Instead of: How do I fly a kite?, Try: Kite Flying Instructions
Know your search operators.
Putting a term in quotation marks ("") will require that word or set of words to be present in the results.
Putting the term AND between terms (in all caps) will require that both items appear in the results.
Putting the term OR between terms (in all caps) will require that either of the items appear in the results.
Use the SITE: tag at the beginning to search a specific site without a search engine. For instance. SITE:wlhs.org will search only wlhs.org for information.
Use the advanced search functions to limit results to full text articles. You may want to also limit results to be peer reviewed if you are in an advanced class.
Remember, you must cite full text articles - you may not use abstracts. If a result shows only an abstract, you need to find a different article. (Note: ASK THE LIBRARIAN - we may be able to obtain the full article for you if it is not available.)
Track the permalinks and citations of your documents in a Google Doc or Sheet. This will help you get back to articles if you need to. Remember - if you can't cite the article, you cannot use the article.
Unless you are researching something from a historical perspective... use the following rules of thumb:
Information about technology and the internet should be no more than 4-7 years old.
Information about education, psychology, other technology, and healthcare should be no more than 5-10 years old.
Biographies and memoirs about living people should include all major life events, and likely not be more than 10 years old.
If you can't find the age of an article... verify the information is correct with another source or consider avoiding that article.