Tackling the Internet

Searching the Internet is more than just "Googling". Genealogists should be familiar with four basic search tools and use all of them, especially when performing literature searches.

• Search Engines

  Google, Ask.com, Yahoo.com, Metacrawler are all examples of search engines or metasearch engines, the latter designed to search multiple search engines at once. These engines are created by computer robot programs and produce unevaluated lists of websites ranked according to a computer algorithm frequently based on popularity. Therefore, among the few gems, their results include many worthless and irrelevant websites. Specialized search engines, such as Searchgov.com, which searches government sites, Scirus.com, which retrieves scientific information, and Google Scholar, which retrieves scholarly articles, should also be considered.

• Directories

  Directories are effectively specialized custom search engines. The lists they produce have been reviewed by those knowledgeable in the field, and so are likely to be both relevant and worthwhile. As the name implies, directories frequently provide links organized by subject. Browsing for useful information may be helpful. Two important scholarly directories to consider are the Librarians' Internet Index, and Infomine. The latter has an especially informative section on Internet finding tools: http://infomine.ucr.edu/guides/help.shtml.

• Searchable Databases

  Much of the information on the Internet is "invisible", hidden from search engines in large databases, rather than posted on static websites. Links to many of these databases can be found in subject directories. Others may be found by monitoring genealogy blogs, searching library and archive websites, or serendipitously entering the right keywords in a search engine

• Springboards

  Springboards are specialized lists of organized links designed to jumpstart a researcher. CyndisList.com is the first springboard of choice for most genealogists. Godfrey.org, a subscription site, also maintains a small, but excellent list of free genealogy sites. Both RootsWeb.com and the USGenWeb site could also be considered springboards.

• Searching for published histories and genealogies
  • Searchable Databases:
    • Library of Congress Online Catalog http://catalog.loc.gov/
    • DAR Library Catalog http://www.dar.org/library/onlinlib.cfm
    • Family History Library Catalog http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp
      Use Surname Search and Place Search or Keyword Search including surname and place. Hyperlinks may link catalog entry to digital images at the BYU Family History Archives (below).
      
    • Internet Archive http://www.archive.org/
      This site inherited Microsoft's LiveSearch Books. It's a wonderful source, but can be a little tricky to search.
    • The Online Books Page http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/
    • Making of America (University of Michigan) http://moa.umdl.umich.edu/
    • Making of America (Cornell University) http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/
    • BYU Family History Archives http://www.lib.byu.edu/fhc/
    • Hathi Trust Digital Library http://catalog.hathitrust.org/
  • Subscription Sites:
    • HeritageQuest (remote access with library card via library website)
    • Ancestry.com http://www.ancestry.com
    • Footnote.com http://www.footnote.com/
  • Search Engines:
    • Google Book Search
  • Directories:
    • WorldCat (OCLC) http://www.worldcat.org/
• Searching for transcripts and abstracts
  • Springboards:
    • RootsWeb.com http://www.rootsweb.com/
    • USGenWeb Project http://www.usgenweb.com/
    • American Local History Network http://www.alhn.org/
      
    When using any of the above sites, review their holdings by location first (State, County, Town) and then by record type (Census, Cemetery, etc.). Results from the site search engines may be inconsistent and incomplete.
  • Searchable Databases:
    • RootsWeb.com http://www.rootsweb.com/
      Search engines for RootsWeb search names only, with the exception of their SearchThingy.
      
  • Directories
    • Infomine http://infomine.ucr.edu/
    • Librarians' Internet Index http://www.lii.org/
  • Search engines
    • Include location and record type, eg. "bradford county" AND cemetery
• Searching for periodical articles
  • PERSI (PERiodical Source Index) http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/persi.html
    
    • Online to Ancestry.com subscribers
    • Online as part of the Heritage Quest offerings and usually available at your local library or remote access through your library card;
  • Search Engines:
    • Google Book Search and Google Scholar
  • Directories:
    • Infomine http://infomine.ucr.edu/
• Searching for repository reference material
  • Search engines
    • Include location and repository type, eg. "bradford county" AND library AND pennsylvania
      Most libraries, archives and courthouses maintain websites and many provide records online and answer email requests for information.
• Searching for families, past and present
  • FamilySearch http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp searches the following databases:
    • International Genealogical Index
    • Pedigree Resource File (lineage based data submitted by patrons to FamilySearch online; use with caution!)
    • Ancestral File (lineage based data submitted by patrons; use with caution!)
    • Social Security Death Index
  • GenForum http://genforum.genealogy.com/ and RootsWeb.com http://www.rootsweb.com/
    • Bulletin Boards
    • WorldConnect Project http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/
  • People Search http://people.yahoo.com/
  • Ancestry.com http://www.ancestry.com
  • Search Engines
    Include location when searching for family information, eg. prescott AND vershire

Keyword Tips and Tricks

Search engines, directories, and searchable databases all have their own unique searching tricks. Most have both simple search options and advanced search options. If your results aren't what you expect, read the search help file. The following are basic techniques, but not all work for every search engine.

• Phrases
  Enclose phrases in quotes. "isaac staples" retrieves only pages with that phrase. Don't forget that names are often entered with the surname first, so always search for "staples isaac" as well. In Google, "isaac * staples" retrieves several-word phrases enclosed by the words isaac and staples, for example, "Isaac Hayes Staples", "Isaac and Abigail Staples", or "Isaac D. Staples".
  
• Boolean Search Algorithms
  AND, OR, NOT, (), +, and - are among the variety of connectors that can be used to combine keywords in most search engines. Usage varies from engine to engine, so read the "Search Tips". If you forget them, most of the Boolean search options can be accessed through an Advanced Search page.
  
• Wildcards
  Not all engines allow wildcards, but they can be very handy. Common wildcard symbols are *, %, and ?. Read the "Search Tips" to determine what limits, if any, are placed on wildcards. For example, Ancestry.com requires at least three letters at the beginning of each field before the wildcard. With less than three letters, the search returns an error message.
  
• Synonym search
  The tilde (~) followed by a word is effectively a synonym search in Google. For example, a search for staples ~genealogy will uncover many Staples genealogy sites, as well as family history sites and family trees, Of course, you might be surprised at the number of possibilities Google interprets as genealogy synonyms.
• Truncation
  If a search engine allows truncation, it returns all results that begin with the word entered; for example, case returns case, casebeer, casey, etc. You will usually find truncation allowed in a searchable database, but not in the large search engine sites.
  
• Stemming
  If stemming is allowed, the search engine considers plurals and words ending in -ing and -ed to be equivalents.
  
• Case Sensitivity
  Most of the large search engines are case insensitive. Entering case returns CASE and Case. This is not always true for searchable databases! If you get no results or an error message, try reentering your criteria with the proper case.
  
• Punctuation
  Most search engines ignore periods and commas. Apostrophes, on the other hand, are important. The necessity of hyphens varies from search engine to search engine.
  

For more information on Google search possibilities, check out the Google Cheat Sheet.

Practice Makes Perfect

For an excellent tutorial on searching and evaluating websites, please study the UC Berkeley Internet Workshop Tutorial. For additional practice, be sure to complete the Internet Scavenger Hunt.