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If the Internet is a giant library with no card catalog.....
How can you find all that wonderful information?
and How can you find it again?
How to conduct a successful search:
Get started - Don't Quit!
For purposes of training, we have excerpted "How to Search the World Wide Web", A Tutorial for Beginners and Non-Experts . For full text of this tutorial, visit: http://www.ultranet.com/~egrlib/tutor.htm#ASE
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Four Search Methods
1. A directory search tool searches for information by subject matter. It is a hierarchical search that starts with a general subject heading and follows with a succession of increasingly more specific sub-headings. It is also known as a subject search.
- Tips:Choose a subject search when you want general information on a subject or topic. Often, you can find links in the references provided that will lead to specific information you want.
- Advantage: The information placed in a directory database is reviewed by skilled persons to ensure that its index accurately describes the subject matter’s content.
- Disadvantage:Because the indexing process is so time consuming, Web site reviews are limited. Thus, directory databases are comparatively small and their updating frequency is relatively low. Also, descriptive information about each site is very limited and general.
2. A search engine searches databases by using keywords. Itresponds to a query with a list of references or hits. It is also known as a keyword search.
- Tip: Choose a keyword search to obtain specific information, since its comprehensive database is likely to contain the information sought.
- Advantage:Updates existing databases and adds new Web sites frequently through regular use of robots.
- Disadvantage: Not very exacting in the way it indexes database content. This often makes it difficult to find information sought.
3. A directory with search engine uses both the subject and keyword search methods described above as a directory search, it follows a directory path through increasingly more specific subject matter. At each stop along the path, a search engine option is provided to enable the searcher to convert to a keyword search. A subject search and keyword search are thus said to be coordinated. The further down the path the keyword search is made, the narrower is the search field and the fewer and more relevant the hits.
- Tip: Use when you are uncertain which of the two search methods, subject or keyword, will provide the best results.
- Advantages: Ability to narrow the search field to obtain results more efficiently.
- Disadvantages: The keyword option may not operate optimally for difficult searches.
*Some search tools use search engine and directory searches independently. They are said to be non-coordinated.
4. A multi-engine search, also called a meta-search,utilizes a number of search engines simultaneously.The search is conducted via keywords employing commonly used operators or plain language. It then lists the hits either by search engine or by integrating the results into a single listing.
- Tip: Use to speed up the search process.
- Advantage:Often provides fewer references and is tolerant of imprecise search questions.
- Disadvantage:Can not be used as effectively as a search engine to conduct difficult searches.
All-In-One
uses a number of search engines consecutively, rather than concurrently as do the other multi-engine search tools. It provides an efficient way to select and utilize any of a large number of search engines, one at a time.
Search Tools
Search tools are computer programs that access Web sites to retrieve information. Each search tool is owned by a separate entity that operates it from a master computer. When you use a search tool to pose a query, your request travels to the tool’s Web site. There, it conducts a search of its database and directs the response back to your computer.
Of the many search tools available, we have chosen 15 that we believe to be among the most useful. Table I lists these preferred search tools according to the search method each employs.
Table I
Preferred Search Tools by Search Method
Directory and
Search Engine
(Non-coordinated)*Directory with Search
Engine
(Coordinated)**Multi-Engine
-
-
-
* Non-coordinated means the directory and search engine tools operate independently.
** Coordinated means the directory and search engine tools operate interactively.
Table II
Preferred Keyword Search Tools and Their Operators
| Search Tool | Operators |
||||
| Boolean | Plus/Minus | Quote Marks |
Stemming | Case Sensitive | |
| All-In-One* | x |
||||
| AltaVista | x |
x |
x |
* |
|
| Dogpile | x |
x |
o |
||
| Encyc. Brit. | |||||
| Excite | x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
| HotBot | x |
x |
x |
o |
x |
| Infoseek | o |
x |
x |
x |
x |
| LookSmart | |||||
| MetaFind | x |
x |
|||
| Magellan | |||||
| Mamma | x |
x |
x |
x |
|
| MetaCrawler | x |
x |
|||
| NorthernLight | o |
x |
x |
||
| OneKey | |||||
| SavvySearch | o |
x |
x |
o |
|
| Yahoo | x |
x |
x |
* |
x |
[x] means supports, [o] means excludes, [*] means a wild card capability.Table Symbols:
Boolean Seaches: employs AND, OR, NEAR and NOT to connect words and phrases [i.e. terms] in the query where: AND requires that both terms are present somewhere within the document being sought; NEAR requires that one term must be found within a specified number of words; OR requires that at least one term is present; NOT excludes a term from a query.
In addition to the operators shown in the table, most search tools also have operators of their own. Searches will usually benefit from a careful adherence to the use of operators, particularly for more difficult queries.
For the beginner, even 15 search tools from which to choose can be too many. Therefore, we suggest that you start with Yahoo for subject searches, Hotbot for keyword searches and SavvySearch or Mamma for multi-engine searches. As you gain experience, expand the number to include those that match your particular needs.
There is more of this great tutorial at: How to Search the World Wide Web and additional in-depth tutorials on effective search techniques at: Finding Information on the Internet: A TUTORIAL
| Introduction | The Internet | Benefits | Why get Online |
| Search | Browsers | Bookmarks | Handling Email |
 Ahead to Workshop 2 |
Ahead to Workshop 3
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The beginning of the workshop is at: http://nacdnet.org/workshops/intro.htm
