Transcript Searching the Net

Searching the Net
Using Internet search engines and
logical operators to find what
you’re looking for on the web
What is the Internet?
The Internet is
the transport
vehicle for the
information
stored in files or
documents on
another
computer.
What kind of stuff is on the net?
Corporations, hospitals,
universities, museums,
government agencies,
special interest groups,
libraries, individuals,
research organizations,
and public service
groups are among the
big players on the net.
But remember:
there is no check for
accuracy, fairness,
honesty, currency, or
decency. Anyone
who knows how to
make a web page
can place anything
on the net. It’s up to
the user to be wary.
Search engines are cool.
A search engine is a
tool for finding
information on the
Internet. There are
lots of search
engines, but they all
work basically the
same way.
Take a look at this animation
http://www.learnthenet.com/engli
sh/animate/search.html
Now we’re ready to learn
about Boolean logic.
AND
If you want web sites or database
articles on ‘how crime and poverty are
related,’ then you want only sites that
contain both of those keywords.
Search for: poverty AND crime
OR
If you want web sites or database
articles on ‘college,’ you might also want
to include ‘university,’ so you want sites
that contain either of these keywords.
Search for: college OR university
NOT
If you want web sites or database
articles only on ‘cats’ but nothing on
‘dogs,’ then you want to make sure
‘dogs’ doesn’t appear as a keyword.
Search for: cats NOT dogs
REMEMBER
AND = requires all terms to appear in a
record
OR = retrieves records with either term
NOT = excludes terms
Search engines
There are dozens,
maybe hundreds, of
search engines. The
next frame shows
some of the best
and what they are
best for.
If you want to . . .
www.yahoo.com/
Lycos
www.lycos.com/
Google
www.google.com
Search for a narrow topic
AltaVista
www.altavista.com/
Excite
www.excite.com/
Go (Infoseek)
http://www.go.com/
Search largest amount of
Internet (meta-search
engines)
Metacrawler
http://www.metacrawler.com/
Ask Jeeves
www.askjeeves.com
All the Web (Fast Search)
http://www.alltheweb.com/
Search only reviewed
sites
A Well-Lighted Place for Kids
http://www.computerlearning.org
/WellLite.htm
Argus Clearninghouse
www.clearinghouse.net/
About.com/Mining Co.
http://www.about.com/
Browse educational topics
and resources
Schrock’s Guide
http://school.discovery.com/schr
ockguide/
Blue Web’n
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wire
d/bluewebn/
Connections +
http://www.mcrel.org/resources/
links/hotlinks.asp
Switchboard
www.switchboard.com/
Gov Spot
http://www.govspot.com/
Research-It!
www.itools.com/research-it/
K-12 Weblinks Database
www.itrc.ucf.edu/k12db/
EvaluTech
www.evalutech.sreb.org/
FREE
www.ed.gov/free/
Browse a broad topic
Search specific types of
databases
Search for educational
materials and reviews
Yahoo
Search engine shortcuts
Most search engines have matured past
the original “and, or, not” operators.
They now use shortcuts that have the
same meaning but are quicker to type.
The next frame shows each engine and
what it uses for shortcuts.
Google
Alta Vista
Infoseek
Lycos
Yahoo
www.google.com
(Simple Search)
www.altavista.com
www.go.com
www.lycos.com
www.yahoo.com
And
(Automatically
includes "and"
between terms)
+cats +pets
+cats +pets
+cats +pets
+cats +pets
Or
(do a separate
search)
cats kittens
cats, kittens
Use Advanced
Search
Use Advanced
Search
Not
cats –wild
+cats –wild
+cats –wild
+cats –wild
+cats –wild
Exact phrase
“pet care”
“pet care”
“pet care”
“pet care”
“pet care”
Complex
N/A
Use Advanced
Search
N/A
Use Advanced
Search
N/A
Searching
When in Doubt
Every search engine worth its salt has a
“tips” page that tells you how to use it.
“Tips” will usually be located by clicking
on the logo on the engine’s home page.
Once you become completely familiar
with the basics, click on “advanced
search” to learn how to fine tune your
searches.
Putting it all together
Go to this on-line tutorial and watch
AltaVista help Rascal find a therapist.
http://www.learnthenet.com/english/ht
ml/78tutorial.htm