How to search the Internet like a pro!

Remember, when looking for health information on the Internet, anyone can make any claim. If it sounds too good to be true - it is!

If we don't have what you need in the sites listed here, search the Internet like a pro. Use Google (www.google.com) or another search engine to locate more sites on your topic.

When searching, always use the most specific words, and just use a couple of words. For example, if you are looking for sites that talk about asthma and sports, just type in ASTHMA SPORTS or you could use ASTHMA EXERCISE. Do not make a long sentence such as: "athletes who suffer asthma attacks while playing sports" that just makes the search engine return a few goofy links instead of the really good sites. Always try to think of synonyms...like sports and exercise...because you can only search whatever the person who wrote the site used.

When you have fetched the good stuff from the 'Net, keep an eye on the sites you use. Here are some quick ways to tell if a site is high-quality:

WHO - Check to see who wrote the page - do they have degrees in their topic, are they qualified as a real expert, or just someone who thinks they are an expert?

WHAT - Check what is covered at the site - does it seem unbiased, are they selling something, is it well-written, what is the purpose of the site?

WHERE - Check the location of the site - .gov sites are always quality, .edu are from colleges and universities, but still could be favoring one side of an argument, .org are from organizations, but some are fakes, .com are commercial sites...they might have advertising, but if it is plainly marked then it could still be a good site.

WHEN - Check the date the page was created, and when it was last updated. Some things don't change over time (like anatomy - they haven't found a new part in the body in a century), but most do change, so go for the recent information.

WHY - Check to see why that site came up in a search, which words did you use, are there other terms you should use?

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