Searching the Web

Searching

How do I find it on the World Wide Web?

Objectives

• You will be able to refine a search using specific techniques such as field searches, phrase searches, and boolean terms.

• You will be able to identify three different types of search tools and utilize them for different searches.

Effective Searches on the Internet

1. Identify terms about your topic.

2. Select a search tool.

3. Decide on Search Strategies.

4. Evaluate results.

5. Return to step 1 if needed.

Three types of search tools.

• Directory• Search Engine• Metasearch Engines

Three types of search tools: Directory

• A Subject directory is a site that has a collection of links that were added by people.

• The site organizes content by subject.

• Examples: http://www.lii.org/, www.vlib.org/

Types of search tools: Search Engine

• A ‘true’ search engine is a searchable database of Internet keywords collected by a computer program called a bot or spider.

• Examples: www.google.com, http://www.altavista.com

Three types of search tools: Meta Search

• A metasearch tool uses directories and true search engines to gather information.

• This tool will give you more results in searches.

• Useful for hard to find topics where a large number of results are desired.

• Examples www.metacrawler.com, www.metaseek.com, www.mamma.com

Search Tool Activity:In note book

• Go to Google.com and perform a search on Abraham Lincoln.

• Go to lii.org and perform the same search.

• Go to metacrawler.com and perform the same search

• Look at the results and identify one difference in each search tool.

Search Techniques

• There are some techniques when using search engines or directories that will make searches more efficient. What many people don’t realize, is that the techniques vary from one search engine to the next.

Search Techniques

• Boolean terms (and, or , not)

• Phrase (quotes)

• Field search(allows searches for special fields on a web page)

• Case sensitivity (apply case as appropriate)

Boolean Logic• Many (but not all) Search Engines support Boolean Logic...– It consists of three logical operators…

• OR

• AND

• NOT

ORSearches for anything containing

either word

ANDSearches for sites containing

both words

NOTSearches for sites containing

one of the words but eliminating sites containing the

other word

Boolean Logic: Examples

OR AND NOT

Type in: College OR University

Results:

College: 17,320,770 sites

University: 33,685,202 sites

College OR University: 42,566,800 sites

Results:

College: 17,320,770 sites

University: 33,685,202 sites

College AND University: 2,599 sites

Results:

College: 17,320,770 sites

University: 33,685,202 sites

College NOT University: 12,600 sites

Type in: College AND University

Type in: College NOT University

How to Use Boolean Logic

• I need information about cats:– Search: cats OR felines– Search: cats felines

• I’m interested in dyslexia in adults:– Search: dyslexia AND adults– Search: +dyslexia +adults

• I’m interested in radiation, but not nuclear radiation:– Search: radiation NOT nuclear– Search: radiation -nuclear

• I want to learn about cat behavior:– Search: (cats OR felines) AND behavior– Search: cats felines +behavior

• Use of parentheses in the search is know as “forcing the order of processing.”

Phrase Searching

• Using quotation marks around a phrase can narrow down a search.

– Use quotation marks when the words should stay together in the order you typed them.

• Examples:

– Search: “Abraham Lincoln” will find results with the president’s name. If you just search abraham lincoln, you will get results that include any abraham and any lincoln.

– Search: “math lesson plans”

– Search: “space shuttle”

• Some search engines allow ‘natural speech’ questions.

Case Sensitivity Searching

• Many Search Engines are case sensitive. That means that capitalizing a word will command the engine to only look for a proper noun, thus narrowing your search.

CAPITALIZATION- Bill, bill, Gates, gates, Digital, digital, Lotus, lotus

Field Searching

• A FIELD is a place on a web site. For example, the title of the site is in a field, the address of the site has a field, a picture has a field, etc.

• You can search a field if you are looking for something very specific. If you know the name of the web site for example, or if you are just looking for pictures of tigers...

Field Searching...• In the search box type…

– title:welcome to Adobe Golive– image:tiger– anchor:click for HyperStudio stacks

– An anchor is any command that might be found on a web site. This search will give you all the sites that have this command somewhere on them. This example will enable you to find many HyperStudio stacks.

Field Searching...

– domain:edu– Domain is the type of server:

– Commercial=.com educational=.edu Government=.gov nonprofit=.org

– host:microsoft.com– Link:www.santacruz.k12.ca.us– Url:flag

Search Technique Strategy:In notebook

• Perform a phrase search, a field search (title:), and a boolean search(use AND) for Abraham Lincoln

• List the number of results for each search• What note does google give you when you

use AND in the search?