Effectively Conduct a Web Search: Home

About This Guide

Welcome to QNL's guide on how to effectively conduct a web search!

Do you have a search? Do you want to find relevant and reliable information? Want to write a paper or develop a presentation? Want to learn how to cite the information you used?

Doing your academic, or professional research requires more than a quick Google search. This guide aims to help you conduct a web search effectively following the Standards of Information Literacy.

Getting Started

You have several ways to find information. Use the:

Catalog to search for print and non-print collections.

Discovery Search to search for resources available through the online databases.

Publication Finder to search for specific titles of eJournals, periodicals, series, eBooks, theses/dissertations, annual reports, and many more. Use this when you know exact publication title you are looking for. Note that if you are looking only for a specific article title, use the Discovery Search.

Individual Database if you want to use a specific database. Simply click on the database name and search.

Help is Here!

Most databases use a help feature that explains how to conduct simple and advanced searches. If you search a database and do not find the results you want, use Ask Our Librarians for assistance. Library staff are happy to help you find what you need!

Essential Steps for the Effective Search Process following the Information Literacy Standards

What is Information Literacy (IL) ?

UNESCO defines Information Literacy in The Prague Declaration as follows: “Information Literacy encompasses knowledge of one’s information concerns and needs, and the ability to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and effectively create, use and communicate information to address issues or problems at hand; it is a prerequisite for participating effectively in the Information Society, and is part of the basic human right of lifelong learning.”

“Information Literacy empowers people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create information effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals” (UNESCO, 2022)

What are the Information Literacy Standards?

According to the Association of College and Research Libraries (ARCL), an information literate individual can:

Determine the nature and extent of information needed
Find the needed information effectively and efficiently
Evaluate information and its sources critically and incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base
Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally