POLS 240: Taylor, K. (Fall 2025): Searching the "free Web"

Domain Searching

You can search the "free" web just like you search the TCC Library databases, through the use of key search terms. (See database tab).

Like the TCC Library databases, you can also limit your searches to produce certain types of information.

One of the most powerful ways to search for this information is going to be through "domain searching."

If you would like to search a specific government website, and you know what it is, you can just go to that site, of course.

But if you aren't sure where to look, domain searching is the quickest and easiest way to find government information about sustainability programs or policies, including proposed ones. 

Search, using your key search terms, here I am using solar incentives washington state, and then add the following domain search:

site:.gov (the word 'site' followed by a colon, then a dot, then the letters 'gov' - no spaces between)

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If you do not want to limit to a specific county or state, you do not need to include those terms in your search.

Non-Domain Searching

Of course there is a lot of potentially useful information out there that is not from the government! I conducted a few open searches (without domain limitations). I am modeling one key word search I tried, with a few sites that might be useful to you. (Note: I am not including .com (commercial) sites in my list, though several companies publish their sustainability policies, so those may be worth a look when you are searching, depending on how your are approaching your project.)

What is the value of a big wide search? The value is to see what is "out there", and this can help you search for more of the types of things you are interested in. For example, if you are seeing useful information from .us domains, you can search that domain specifically.

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