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Google and More
Search Engines and Web Based
Directories, how to target a search
and evaluate the results
Most users want a single search engine that
delivers 3 key features:

Relevant results

Uncluttered easy to read interface

Helpful options to broaden or tighten the
search
www.google.ca
Google is king of the search engines. It is
fast, relevant, and the largest single index
of web pages available today.
 Google offers good extras with maps,
images, news etc. all in one place.
 There are ways to refine a search to avoid
an overwhelming number of results

Field Searching
Title Field
Title field searching allows the user to:
 Focus on the main topic
 Find more relevant web pages
 It’s good to use when searching for places,
people, events and popular topics
Intitle: will search the first word in the title
and the following words anywhere.
Example
intitle:hurricane katrina
intitle:recycling students teachers
Allintitle: will search all words in the title
field.
Example
allintitle:recycling students teachers
Domain (site) Field
This allows the user to:
 Search within a full domain name, i.e.
within a specific site such as gc.ca
 Or to restrict the results to a specific
top-level domain, .edu, .org
Examples
site:gc.ca copyright
site:gc.ca h1n1
spelling exercises site:edu
site:edu nutrition
Domain Field – Benefits

Very good way to narrow searches,
especially if you want to explore a
particular website

The user can restrict results to a type of
website such as academic sites or
government sites
File Type Field
Allows the user to restrict their search by
specific file types such as ppt, xls, pdf.
Examples
filetype:xls organic crops
filetype:ppt organic crops
Definition Field

A very quick way to access definitions

Allows user to listen to the correct
pronunciation.
Examples
define:elegy
define:ebitda
Tips for Google
Be as specific as you can with your search
statement eg. war of 1812 causes, not just
history of wars
 Use ~ to include synonyms for some
words eg. rockies ~guide will include
synonyms for guide such as map, tips,
help, pathfinder etc
 Use phrase searching to avoid stop words
eg. “how to knit” or “one small step for a
man”

Alternatives to Google
Why bother?
 Search a different index of webpages
 View search results that are compiled by
different rankings
 Use additional features not available with
Google
http://duckduckgo.com
- no clutter, no spam, very clean spartan look
- “zero-click” information, all your answers are
found on the first results page
- offers prompts to help clarify what question
you are really asking
- additional goodies
http://yippy.com
- a Deep Web search engine that
searches other search engines for you
- reaches pages that are harder to
locate by a conventional search
- it clusters the results
www.hakia.com
- intelligent search, matches by concept or idea
rather than word
- sites are selected and evaluated, so fewer
results but more reliable
www.exalead.com/search
-Very visual with bookmarks for each site
-Suggests related terms
-Can limit search by file type and site type
http://ca.yahoo.com
- more like a web portal than just a search
engine
- has tabs for images, video, news, etc.
- has “also try” tips and related searches
- results can be filtered by time
Subject Directories

Websites are organized by subject or category

Allows users to find information when the
precise need is unknown

Provides reliable websites selected by experts
Subject Directories –
Examples by Coverage
Selective
Internet Public Library
www.ipl.org
Awesome Library
www.awesomelibrary.org
Canadian Emphasis
Library and Archives Canada
http:/www.collectionscanada.ca/caninfo/eca
ninfo.htm
Virtual Reference Library
http://www.virtualreferencelibrary.ca
Academic Orientation
Infomine
http://infomine.ucr.edu/
Academic Info
http://www.academicinfo.net
Comprehensive
Yahoo! Directory
http://dir.yahoo.com
Open Directory
http://www.dmoz.org
How to Evaluate a Website
The user must consider the following:
 Accuracy
 Authority, the person/organization behind the site
 Purpose, to inform or to persuade
 Objectivity
 Currency
 Coverage, does it go into enough detail for the
user’s needs
 Popularity, have many people linked to the site
Checklist for evaluating
websites
Dalhousie University Libraries.
Checklist for Evaluating Websites
http://www.library.dal.ca/How/Guides/C
hecklist