Library Research Tutorial

Finding credible information on the internet can be tricky.  These search tips (which you can use with Google or DuckDuckGo) can help focus your search to more credible and current sites. 

1. Limit Your Results by Domain

Use Site:[.domain] along with your keywords in the Google search box to only find sites from that specific domain.  Example: site:.gov

Websites that end with .gov and .edu sites may have more reliable information. If you are using a .org or a .com site, make sure you are evaluating the site for credibility.  

2. Limit Your Results by Date

To limit your internet search results by date:

1. If you are using Google, click the Tools link (typically found underneath the search box, but above your results)
2. An Any Time menu will appear above your search results (if you are using DuckDuckGo, this should appear automatically)
3. Open the menu and select a date range. You can also select Custom Range and enter custom dates (ex: 2015 - 2020)

Once you have applied a date limit, you will notice each of your results displays a date next to it.  This is a nice way to make sure you are not finding information that is too old.

LibKey Nomad is a free browser extension you can download on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and other internet browsers.

Scroll down or use the navigation tabs on the left to learn how to download LibKey Nomad.

LibKey Nomad works by searching the webpage you are viewing for citations to scholarly articles (specifically the DOI or PMID number).  If a DOI or PMID is found, LibKey provides a button to seamlessly connect you to the full-text article if it is available.  If a full-text article is not available, you can connect to the Inver Hills Library to create an Interlibrary Loan request for the article.

Below is an example of LibKey Nomad in action.  The Download PDF, Article Link, and Access Options buttons next to each article will take you to the article or to the Inver Hills Library for interlibrary loan.

How LibKey Nomad looks in PubMed search results:

How LibKey Nomad looks in a Wikipedia reference list: 

To get the LibKey Nomad browser extension:

• Go to the Third Iron LibKey Nomad page and choose your preferred browser: https://thirdiron.com/downloadnomad/#choose-browser   Note: You can download LibKey Nomad on more than one browser!
• Follow the prompts on the page to download the extension.  Typically this is a button that says: "Add to Chrome" or "Add to Firefox," etc.

• You will see a message alerting you that LibKey Nomad can read and change data on the webpages you are on.  LibKey Nomad DOES NOT gather any private information.  This read notice just gives the extension permission to search the page for scholarly references and provide a link to the resource.  Click the Add button.                                    
• Once you add the extension, you will be prompted to choose the organization you are affiliated with. Begin typing Inver Hills Community College in the box provided and you will see our college appear in the list. Select Inver Hills from the list. (If you are using Firefox, you may need to click on the LibKey Nomad icon (green raindrop) in the top right corner of your browser to see this choose organization box). 

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• Once you have selected Inver Hills, the extension is active and will provide links for scholarly resources when they are found on a webpage such as PubMed or Wikipedia.

Google Scholar is an open internet Google tool that primarily searches publisher and other academic websites. 

Not all information in Google Scholar is peer-reviewed and there is limited access to full-text.  However, it is a tool that can be used to discover additional scholarly or academic sources of information.

Access Google Scholar at: https://scholar.google.com

If a full text article is available in Google Scholar you will see a link on the side of search results.

For increased access to full text, link Google Scholar to the Inver Hills Community College Library.

• Under the hamburger menu in top left corner, select Settings

• Choose Library Links

• Search for Inver Hills Community College

• Check the Inver Hills Community College Library checkbox and click Save