Research & Subject Guides: Researching Without an SBU ID: Open web searching

The Open Web: Google and Beyond

Article: "What Google Search Isn't Showing You," The New Yorker, March 10, 2022
Kyle Chayka's article discusses recent discontent with Google's search algorithms. The article also different ways different search engine algorithms work to return search results, and how those algorithms change over time.
Article: "What the ephemerality of the Web means for your hyperlinks," Columbia Journalism Review, May 21, 2021
A discussion of what linkrot and content drift mean for web articles that use hyperlinks. The article describes a study done by Harvard Law School to understand how linkrot is playing out for articles published by the New York Times between 1996 and 2019.
Article: "The Blurred Lines and Closed Loops of Google Search," Wired, August 31, 2020
This article explores what are often described as "dark patterns," or tweaks in algorithms that make is harder to distinguish between paid and unpaid content that comes up in your Google search results.
Infographic: Evaluating online information
An SBU infographic that outlines what questions to ask when evaluating websites.
Open Access Archives and Databases
A list of some online archives and databases that are free on the open web.
SIFT: Stop, Investigate the source, Find trusted coverage, Trace
The SIFT method is designed to help you evaluate information you find on the web. It encourages you use the "webness" of the web, to search outward from the source before delving too deeply into it.
Tutorial: Evaluating Web Sources
Click through this free tutorial to evaluate the reliability of a web page.
Video: The Internet: How Search Works (2017)
A 5-min introduction to how search engines work from Code.org (2017)
Video: Searching on the open web (12 minutes)
What should you be aware of when searching on the open web? This video goes over a few ideas to help inform your Google searching, and things to keep in mind to avoid unreliable information.
Video: When and how can the open web be helpful? (14 minutes)
This video covers some of the ways the open web can be helpful in complementing your database research. It includes a sample "search journey" to model how you can use your critical thinking skills to identify reliable and unreliable web content.
Webpage & infographic: Let's flatten the infodemic curve
Tips to use when determining the value of information you find on the open web, from the World Health Organization

Where can I find statistics?

Looking for statistics? The open web is a great place to find statistics published by established and respected organizations. It is also a place where you might find some statistics that are false or misleading. How can you know what to use? Here is a list of sources known for being reliable sources of statistics:

INTERNATIONAL DATA COLLECTIONS