Internet Search Strategies

Introduction

The Internet offers access to information on just about any topic under the sun, which may sound like a great idea at first, but unfortunately may also lead to wasting precious time looking for relevant information. The answer: plan your web search!

Web Directory or Search Engine?

When looking for information on a broad subject, it is better to use a web directory such as Yahoo, one of the most popular web directories out on the Internet. Yahoo is divided into fourteen major topics, e.g. Arts, Business and Economy, Computers and Internet, Education, Entertainment, etc. Under each of these topics is a list of subtopics, and under each of these is another list, and another - moving from more general to more specific information every time. Although web directories will not give you as many references as a search engine, they are easier to use (especially if the information you're looking for fits neatly into a category such as "Entertainment"). The information will also probably be more pertinent to the topic being researched.

When more specific information is required, however, search engines such as Google, Infoseek or Webcrawler will probably be more helpful. Understanding how information is organized by search engines will make it easier for you to find the most relevant information.

Search engines use software robots, spiders or "crawlers" to "survey" the World Wide Web and build extensive databases. All the documents in these databases are retrieved and indexed using keywords and/or concepts found in the documents. Some search engines index every word on every page, while others index only part of a document (e.g. title, headings, subheadings, hyperlinks and a restricted number of lines of text.). Other variations include discriminating between upper and lower case, including or excluding articles such as "a", "an", "the", etc.

Using search engines brings about certain problems of which you need to be aware when doing research, though. It is not possible for a search engine to distinguish between words that are spelled the same way, but have different meanings , for example, "schools" can refer to educational institutions and a shoal of fish, porpoises or whales. Search engines are also not able to return hits on synonyms (words that have the same meaning), e.g. a search using "student" as a keyword will ignore articles where the words "learners", "pupils", "scholars", etc. are used. Some search engines such as Excite try and overcome these problems by using concept-based searching, meaning that the search engine tries to determine "about subjects" even if the words in the document don't match your query exactly. However, although more effective than keyword searching in some ways, concept-based searching is not always as effective as one would like it to be.

Refining the Search

Most sites offer two types of searches: basic and advanced/refined. When doing a basic search, it is possible to search using more than one word at a time, and/or exclude words from the search. Some search engines will also allow you to restrict the search to a certain area and/or use proper names (names, places, etc.) and phrases that belong together ("public schools"). Use capital letters when searching proper names and place words/phrases in quotations marks.

For additional information on this topic, take a look at the PowerPoint Presentation on Keyword Searching

Boolean Operators

Boolean operators are used to refine a search using logical terms such as AND, OR, NOT, NEAR, FOLLOWED BY, etc.

Examples

Using Boolean AND will ensure that all the terms you specify in the search must appear in the document, e.g. "public" and "schools". Use this to restrict your search to certain fields.

Ensure that at least one of the terms you use in the search will appear in the document by using Boolean OR, e.g. "curriculum" or "syllabus". Use this if you don't want to rule out certain information.

Use Boolean NOT if you want to exclude specific words from your search, e.g. "schools" NOT "private".

NOTE:

Some search engines use "+" and "-" to include and exclude terms in stead of Boolean operators.

Advanced Searches

When doing an advanced search, e.g. using the advanced query form on Google, you can have documents arranged in order of relevance. Although a little more difficult to do, an advanced search will save time and allow more control over the quality of information returned.

Smart Searching Strategies

Know where to look first. A search engine may not always the best way to start searching for information.

Be specific when choosing keywords, e.g. don't use "schools" as a keyword if you need information about public schools in Minnesota.

Refine your search by using the available search refining options, e.g. Boolean operators.

If the search engine you're using has the facility, "query by example" or "find similar sites".

REMEMBER:

The best way to learn about the various search engines is to read the HELP FILES on the various engine sites and PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!