Scribd
Upload
92 views14 pages

Effective Internet Searching

The document discusses effective internet searching strategies, including using search engines which collect and index web pages to return results based on relevancy, while internet guides are organized directories classified by humans. It also covers different search methods like keyword, Boolean, question, and advanced searches which can broaden or narrow results using operators like AND, OR, and NOT. The document provides examples of how to implement these search strategies and techniques.

Uploaded by

Stephanie Nicole Pablo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
92 views14 pages

Effective Internet Searching

The document discusses effective internet searching strategies, including using search engines which collect and index web pages to return results based on relevancy, while internet guides are organized directories classified by humans. It also covers different search methods like keyword, Boolean, question, and advanced searches which can broaden or narrow results using operators like AND, OR, and NOT. The document provides examples of how to implement these search strategies and techniques.

Uploaded by

Stephanie Nicole Pablo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Effective Internet

Searching
Why use the Internet
• Search for a question
• Research a topic
• Current research
• Variety of sources, a click away

• What other non-online


resources?
– Encyclopedia, book, dictionary,
Atlas, World Almanac
Search Engines
• Collects copies of web pages from various host
servers
• Assembled into a data base
• Displayed according to relevancy and rank
• Search engines use a program to search and
retrieve web sites; spiders/crawl the web thru links
• Algorithm to determine rank; company ‘trade secret’
• Google, Ask Jeeves, AOL Search, AltaVista, MSN Search
Internet Guides
• Index or directory of websites
• Classified by subject categories
• Organized by humans and not computer
programs/algorithms

• Yahoo, Librarian’s Internet Index. EBSCO host,


libraries
Four Search Strategies
• Keyword Searching
• Boolean
• Question
• Advanced
Keyword Searching
• Enter terms to search
• Use quotation marks to search as a
phrase and keep the words linked together
• Common words are ignored (that, to,
which, a, the, …)
• + and – can be used to include or exclude
a word
Boolean Searching - AND

president Washington

• Enter words connect with AND - it will include


sites where both words are found
• Uses: joining different topics
(ie. “global warming” AND California
Boolean Searching - OR

dogs cats

• Enter words connect with OR - requires at least


one of the terms is found
• Uses: join similar or synonymous topics
(ie. “global warming” OR “greenhouse effect”)
Boolean Searching - NOT

Washington school

• Enter words connect with NOT – searches for the first


term and excludes sites that have the second term
• Uses: join similar or synonymous topics
(ie. Washington NOT school)
Boolean – (Nesting) and Near
• In a string of searching, terms placed in
parentheses are searched first
• Parentheses must be used to group items
if there is another Boolean operator being
used
• NEAR may be used to require words to be
found within 16 words of each other in the
pages returned
Question Searching
• A question may be entered in the search
field of a search engine.
• Ask Jeeves is a search engine that
encourages the use of question searching
Advanced Searching
• Advanced search features are offered on
many engines by going to an “Advanced
Search” page and making selections

• This is effective in narrowing search


returns to a specific topic or phrase
Google Advanced Search
Getting’ it – Do you?

• What is the difference between a


Search Engine and an Internet
Guide?
• Why do search engines return
different results for the same search
query?
Getting’ it – Do you?

• Which Boolean search term broadens a


search?
• Which Boolean search term narrows a
search?
• What built-in tool in most search engines
is helpful in narrowing a search?

You might also like