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HRTS 3934: Seeking Sanctuary in New York City

Prof. Trowbridge, Fall 2024

Strategies for Using Search Engines

Google

When searching in Google, keep in mind that the limits you place (or don't place) on your search, as well as factors like where you are searching from, and even the domain of Google you are searching in (say, US vs. Canada) could impact the kinds of results you receive and the order in which they're displayed. 

While it can be tempting, useful, and easy to dash a few words into a Google search box when you are restless to find information, it can be even more effective to determine, first, what you are looking for. Some examples:

News from Sources Published in a Specific Country

When you are looking for corroborating sources in the form of news from a specific country, Google's options to limit a search to a country specific domain are useful. To figure out a specific country's internet domain, consult the EU World Standard's Internet Country Domains List. Then try either of the following to search:

  • Using a standard Google search page such as Google US, type in site: (country domain), followed by whichever keywords you want to use in a news search.
  • Using Google Advanced Search, select the region you want to limit your search to from the region drop-down menu. Add other search terms in the top boxes provided (under Find pages with...)
  • Note that Google will default to searches published "any time," but you can limit to more recent news sources by changing the date of publication range, to say, last month, or the last five years, or even last week.

News from a Range of Sources, Published Relatively Recently

When you're interested in a kind of thematic "scan" of news on a given topic, you might try the Google News Aggregator. Some helpful features to try:

  • Limit your search by date, to focus on a specific time range. 
  • Adjust your search settings to default to a different language/region (keeping in mind the options offered are still pretty limited. For instance, the regional options offered for Español include Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, España, Estados Unidos, México, Perú, and Venezuela. As of yet, Google does not offer Kreyol as a search language option).
  • You might also try the "follow" feature for a given news search to keep track of updates over a duration of time. 

Reports, Data, or other Documents Published by an Institution Affiliated with the US government

Knowing that US based courts are likely to privilege corroborating evidence coming from or published by the United States government, you may want to find a number of these kinds of sources. To do so, keeping in mind that the domain name .gov is used for most US government-affiliated sites:

  • Using a standard Google Search, type in site: .gov before the rest of your relevant search terms/keywords. 
  • If you use Google Advanced Search instead, type in .gov next to the Site or domain box.

Non-Governmental Organization Search Engine

Developed by the GODORT, the Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, this searches content from websites of a growing list of NGO's around the world. Sites were chosen based on their consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and also collated from University of Minnesota Human Rights Library, Duke University Libraries' NGO Research Guide, and the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO)

 

Wayback Machine

Allows you to search among screen captures of web sites over time, with over 411 billion web pages saved. Start with a known URL to explore past iterations of a website and its content.

Social Media

Several human rights organizations use the social media platform Twitter / X to share research, news, and resources for education. Some examples of handles include:

Nonetheless, recent shifts in Twitter's management and structure, including the complete disbanding of Twitter's human rights team in 2022 by CEO Elon Musk, raise huge concerns about the role of Twitter/X in undermining human rights around the world:

Some strategies to consider as you are using Twitter/X to find news related to human rights and country conditions:

  • Change “Trends” Settings by country to see what tweets are trending, and use these to get familiar w/ news platforms, government agencies, and NGOs.
  • Know that unlike previous iterations of Twitter, it is virtually impossible to search the site without an account. This may inform your decision to use or not use Twitter as a resource.