Searching: Websites

Searching for Health Information Online

Please watch the following 2-minute video, which provides tips for effective Google searching, including how to limit your results to only educational (.edu) or government (.gov) websites.

Keywords

Identifying keywords related to your research topic can help you focus your search in both databases and Google searches.

Sample Topic: Oral health barriers for college students

Synonyms

Oral health, dental health, dental hygiene
College, community college
Income, socioeconomic, social class
Barriers, access, disparities, cost, insurance

Populations

Female
Male
Young adult
College students
Uninsured
Low income

Using different keywords will produce different results.

Google search using the keywords oral health, behaviors, male, and college students

Google search using the keywords community college students and oral health

Recommended Websites

General

MedlinePlus: Dental Health Links to an external site. (National Library of Medicine)
Oral Health Links to an external site. (Center for Disease Control & Prevention)

Local

Statistics Links to an external site.

QuickFacts Links to an external site. (U.S. Census)
National Center for Health Statistics: Oral & Dental Health Links to an external site. (Center for Disease Control & Prevention)
Oral Health Data Links to an external site. (Center for Disease Control & Prevention)
Office of Oral Health: Data & Statistics Links to an external site. (California Department of Public Health)
Health Reports and Statistics Links to an external site. (Santa Cruz County Health Services)

Now You Try

Brainstorm relevant keywords for your topic.
Use Advanced Google Search Links to an external site. or the Recommended Websites above to find two relevant, credible websites for your research topic.
Save your sources on a Google Doc

UWF Libraries. (n.d.). Searching Google effectively Links to an external site. [video file].