Transcript How to Search Like a Pro

How to Search Like a Pro
Sue Altmeyer,
Find it Free and Fast on The Net
Nov. 10 & 11, 2011
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abardwell (justice center), ahi.org – old courthouse
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http://www.google.com/competition/
howgooglesearchworks.html
Search Engine’s index = % of web.
Google 76%, Yahoo 56%.
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Higher if:
◦ Frequently cited by other pages
◦ Search terms in the page title, url,
section headings, Metadata
◦ Search algorithms vary, including
whether entire text indexed
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http://www.seomoz.org/article/searchranking-factors
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Google!
◦ Indexes more web pages
◦ 71% of search queries
◦ Recent study found it performed best
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Yahoo second best on above factors
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Bing third most used
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Best Search Engines http://www.listofsearchengines.info/
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Tend to copy new features off each other
Google – filter by exact date, filter for type of
content
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Yahoo – Unique content, Directory Search
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Bing - Related Searches on the Side
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Metasearch Engines
◦ Dogpile
◦ Yippy - clusters results
Ask.com
◦ searches in Question Form
◦ Math, dictionary, conversion questions
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Duck Duck Go
◦ No tracking, bubbling
◦ Cleaner, less ads
◦ Quick Answers (DEMO – castle doctrine)
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Blekko
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Spam free
/ tags to specify content, eg. /law
Slashes =Lists of trusted sites
(DEMO – castle doctrine)
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Human Editors Characterize Websites by
Topic
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Access to “Deep Web”
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Yahoo
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Internet Public Library -not as large, higher
quality
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Dmoz – Volunteer editors. Good legal sources
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USA.gov –official web portal.
FDsys – Search bills, legislative history,
federal register, etc.
Metalib - searches 53 Databases. Save
results. Create lists of favorites (show)
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LexisWeb, Cornell University Legal Research
Engine, more
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Free
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Indexes legal sites
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Results geared to lawyers –ex. Search = Music
downloads
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Scirus – science and patents
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Biznar - deep web business search engine
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Mednar - deep web medical search engine
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Topsy – social web: Twitter, blogs, and
Youtube
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More precision
Field Searches
Ex. Google.com – click link or wheel for
advanced search
Click on Advanced Search Tips to see
operators
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See materials for links comparing search
engine operators.
Search Engines all have HELP or Search tips
Can use Google operators in Google Scholar
when searching cases
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AND (default)
OR (capitalized)
“”Quotes for phrase.
- to remove words or phrases.
~ searches synonyms
* wildcard to replace word(s) (to * or * )
No truncation
Fields: intitle:, site:, inurl:
define: finds definitions
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Lexis and Westlaw - /s, /p,/5
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Google - sue AROUND(3) brown
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Bing & Exalead – NEAR, eg. Insurance near:10
stacking
Many search engines do not have
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When start typing, some search engines
anticipate what you want
◦ Provide popular searches or even answers
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Use specific search syntax to find quick
answers, ex. Define, calculations, etc.
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Bing Instant Answers – for flights, hotels,
definitions, conversions and more.
Examples:
100 dollars in euros
MSFT quote
define seisen
Continental 706
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Yahoo Search Direct
Pulls up answers to common questions
immediately such as latest news, weather
forecasts and stock information.
Type in the name of a city and get things to
do, hotels, flight and restaurant information.
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Google Instant - predicts what you want
when typing
Duck Duck go – Under Goodies - calculations
and conversions, find facts and dates or use
the bang syntax - ! - to instantly search a
particular site, eg. !amazon green day.
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See materials for browser specific tricks. Also
word processing.
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Some keyboards indicate.
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Control +F
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CTRL+N, CTRL+W
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CTRL+SHIFT+ , CTRL+SHIFT-
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Home key, End key
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Browser bookmarks
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CTRL +D – quickly bookmark
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CTRL+I – access favorites
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Social Bookmarking – organize bookmarks
using tags and share with others. Delicious
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Indicate sites you like and share with others.
See Plus One Button
Sites you and your circles have plus oned will
appear further up in results when you are
logged into Google Account.
Helps Google ranking
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New postings from news & blog feeds
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Condensed format – title and snippet of text
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Go through a lot of content quickly and in
one place
RSS=Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site
Summary
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FIRST, get an RSS Reader, such as Google
Reader or Bloglines Local
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SECOND, find some RSS feeds you want to
follow
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Law Professor Blogs
Ohio Supreme Court RSS Feeds
Findlaw RSS feeds (new cases)
Justia free opinion summaries
Justia Blog Search
ABA Blog Directory
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Google Blogsearch - intitle: to search title of
blog or blog post
Justia Blog Search
More blog search engines - C|M|LAW library’s
webpage: Legal blogs and ways to find them.
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Google Alerts – email updates of Google
search results.
Yahoo Alerts - Keyword News Alert and
category alerts.
Watch That Page – receive email when
changes made to a web site.
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Mobile Apps for Legal Research and News –
handy chart
Works on both iPhone and Android
◦ PACER app - pcl.uscourts.gov
◦ m.next.westlaw.com - Keycite, recent searches
◦ LawGuide – dictionary & forms
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DroidLaw – Federal rules- bookmark & share
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www.fastcase.com/iPhone
Lexis apps - Get Cases & Shepardize,
LexisOne for Solos
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Lawstack – Constitution & Federal Rules
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Nolo Legal Dictionary
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Credibility: author; possible bias, accuracy.
Currency / Updating, Coverage
Writing Quality
Ease of use – Design, navigation,
searchability, help
Stability