Objectives
During this session, you will:
• Distinguish between key word searches and directory (subject) searches.
• Examine a variety of search engines.
• Practice effective searching techniques.
• Discover additional searching resources.
• Explore the concept of the "deep" or "invisible" Web.
• Investigate "jumplists" and "gateways" on the Web.
• Explore resources for evaluating Web content.
Introduction
The search for information on the Web is complicated by that fact
that the Web is constantly growing and changing. Lack of consistency
among the various search engines adds to the frustration for the
user. Searching skills can be practiced and perfected to decrease
searching time and yield more pertinent information. Sometimes
choosing the right tool is just as important as possessing searching
skills.
Powersearching is only half of the issue. Critically evaluating the
search results is the other half. Search engines only find versions
of the truth, not how to think about it. If students are taught to
find Internet resources, but they are not taught how to evaluate
those resources, the job is incomplete.
How Search Engines Work
Most search engines do not search the entire Internet when a query is
entered. Instead, "worms," "crawlers," or "spiders,"
search the Internet and catalog the results in huge data bases stored
on very fast computers. When you perform a search on the Web, you are
actually searching an index of the information stored on the search
engine's massive hard drives.
After the indexing work has been done, search engines provide for searching in two basic ways. Many engines offer both options.
1. Directory or subject searches categorize the index and allow the user to choose from categories.
2. Key word searches provide a box for the user to type the key word(s) for searching the index.
Search engines yield different results because they look for
"matching" information in different places. Places where search
engines look include: page titles, urls, the first few words on the
page, and/or all words on the page.
Directory Searches
A directory search, sometimes called a subject search, is the
easiest way to search the Internet. Web pages are reviewed and placed
into “categories”. A
search begins by choosing a main topic from a list of broad
categories. Subcategories appear to help narrow the search down to
pages with actual links to the Web.
There are two types of directories. The most common type is the
Commercial Portal, like Yahoo, that caters to the general public. A
second type, which should not be overlooked when searching for
quality on the Web, is the Academic
and Professional Directory.
Yahoo! -- http://www.yahoo.com
WebCrawler -- http://www.webcrawler.com
National Directory -- http://www.NationalDirectory.com
About -- http://www.about.com
LookSmart -- http://looksmart.com
Librarian's Index to the Internet -- http://lii.org
University of California Infomine -- http://infomine.ucr.edu
Key Word Searches
Key word searches are often more challenging than directory
searches. Coming up with the right "key word(s)" is the most
difficult task. Key word searches yield a list of matches or hits to
the query posed to the search engine. Most search engines have a box
for entering key word(s) and a
search button. Usually the top of the results list will have the most
pertinent information. Most search engines show about 10 "hits" on
the first page, and use a navigational tool to move to additional
pages of results.
Boolean Logic is
an approach to searching which uses the operators NOT, AND, OR to
narrow or expand the scope of a search. Implied
Boolean Logic has become common in Web searching, and as a rule
search engines default to AND (+) for more than one keyword entry.
(This means that the space between keywords is now interpreted as
AND, requiring all of the key words to be found in order for
the page to appear in the results.) Most search engines accept a plus
(+) in front of words to find, a minus (-) in front of words to omit,
and quotation marks ("") around phrases. It is always a good idea to
check the help screens or the searching tips of the search engine you
are using.
Google -- http://www.google.com
Ask Jeeves -- http://askjeeves.com
Teoma -- http://www.teoma.com
Lycos -- http://www.lycos.com
AllTheWeb -- http://www.alltheweb.com
AltaVista -- http://www.altavista.com
HotBot -- http://www.hotbot.com
Refining Key Word Searches
Your first attempt at key word searching will often need to be refined. The Advanced Search feature of the Google search engine provides a simple way to refine searches. Dr. Bernie Dodge walks through the advanced Google options in his Four Nets for Better Searching, and suggests four techniques to improve searching skills.
Four NETS for Better Searching (Created by Dr. Bernie Dodge at San Diego State University)1. Start Narrow - Include synonyms for the search word and any words to exclude.
2. Use Exact Phrases - Take advantage of words grouped together in predictable ways.
3. Trim the URL- Locate additional resources from the same source.
4. Seek Similar Pages - Find more of a good thing.
Search Engines for Kids
Kid-safe directories use human beings to filter out sites that
might be objectionable for children.
Yahooligans! -- http://www.yahooligans.com
KidsClick -- http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick
Ask Jeeves for Kids --http://www.ajkids.com
Filtered Search Engines
Search the Web and then filter out objectionable material.
Clean Search -- http://www.cleansearch.com/clean-search-index.html
Go.com -- http://www.go.com
Alta Vista Family Filter -- http://www.altavista.com (Turn ON Family Filter.)
Google's SafeSearch -- http://www.google.com/advanced_search (Turn ON SafeSearch preference.)
Meta-Searches
Meta-search engines perform multiple searches on your key word(s) at the same time. Meta-searching is a quick way to scan the Web and bring back the most common results from the most widely used search engines. Sherlock is a meta-search engine included in the Macintosh operating system.
ixquick -- http://www.ixquick.com
Vivisimo -- http://vivisimo.com
RedeSearch -- http://www.redesearch.com
MetaCrawler -- http://www.metacrawler.com
Search.Com -- http://www.search.com
Highway61 -- http://www.highway61.com
Mamma -- http://www.mamma.com
Chubba -- http://chubba.whatuseek.com
Specialized Searches
There are search engines for just about anything you want to find
on the Web. Searching For... Try These Websites URL Maps and Directions MapQuest Distance Between Two Locations How Far Is It Geographical Information CIA World Fact Book Almanac Infoplease.com Encyclopedia Britannica Online Newspapers and Magazines NewsDirectory.com Locate People or Businesses Switchboard Biographical Biography.com Zip Code US Postal Service Quotations Bartleby.com Translations Babelfish at AltaVista Medical Terms Tne On-Line Medical Dictionary A Bill in Congress Legislative Information on the
Internet Help with Homework BJ Pinchbeck's Homework Helper Words, Phrases, and Acronyms Google Glossary All Kinds of Facts Reference Desk Free Clipart Internet Coach Clipart Album http://clipart.apte.com Education Related Articles ERIC Digest Search Page Classroom Resources Blue Web N
MSN Maps and Directories
AnyWho.com
Biographical Dictionary
Awesome Clipart for Kids
Free Educational Clipart
Pics4Learning
SURWEB Image Collections
http://www.awesomeclipartforkids.com
http://www.theteachersguide.com/Freebies.html
http://www.pics4learning.com
http://www.surweb.org/search/collections_imatrix.asp
Searching the Deep or Invisible Web
The so-called "deep" or "invisible" Web consists of content-rich
databases from universities, libraries, associations, businesses, and
government agencies all over the world. Since spiders cannot or will
not index much of this information, it remains invisible to typical
search engines. One directory of deep web databases is invisible-web.net.
There are other specialty
search engines for searching the deep Web.
Jumplists and Gateways
Jumplists are collections of links on specific subjects.Gateways are
often database-driven, and typically lead to collections of
information. Go to the WebLens
site and click on Jumplists and Gateways to see resources related to
Internet research. Kathy Schrock has compiled an extensive jumplist
of Online Tools for
Classroom Use for teachers.
Evaluating Internet Resources
Grammar of the Internet Information Literacy -- http://www.anovember.com/infolit/index.html
The ABCD's of Evaluating Internet Resources -- http://library.lib.binghamton.edu/search/evaluation.html
Kathy Schrock's Critical Evaluation Surveys -- http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/eval.html
Critical Web Viewing Track -- http://trackstar.hprtec.org/main/display.php3?trackid=158443
Web Hoaxes and Misinformation -- http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/sep00/piper.htm
Additional Web Searching Resources
Search Engine Math -- http://www.searchenginewatch.com/facts/article.php/2156021
Web Searching Tips -- http://www.searchenginewatch.com/facts/index.html
Choose the Best Search Engine -- http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html
The Spider’s Apprentice -- http://www.monash.com/spidap.html
Search Engine and Directory for Search Engines -- http://www.searchengineguide.com/searchengines.html
Guide to Search Engines -- http://www.searchenginewatch.com/links/guides.html
Catalog of Search Engines and Directories -- http://www.siteowner.com/dgdefault.cfm
Subject Directory of Search Engines -- http://www.zdnet.com/searchiq/subjects
The Web At A Glance Tutorial -- http://www.learnthenet.com/english/web/000www.htm
Net IQ -- http://www.learnthenet.com/english/quiz/01quiz.htm