Research Strategies: Interactive Tutorial

Module 4: Guide to Web Searching

Searching for Information on the Web
Searching Shortcut
List of Popular Search Engines
Meta-Search Engines
Subject Directories
Refining Searches
Search Exercises
Solutions for Search Exercises
Assignment #1

Searching for Information on the Web

Searching for information on the Web can be rewarding, time-consuming, frustrating, or a combination of all three. Michael Gorman, Library Director at Cal State, Fresno, uses the following example to describe the Web search process:

• Take a book.
• Remove the cover.
• Remove the title page.
• Remove the table of contents.
• Remove the index.
• Cut the binding from the spine.
• Fling the loose pages that remain so they scatter about the room.
• Now, find the information you needed from that book.
• This is the Internet.

Fortunately, there are resources designed to help you find information on the Web. These resources are the World Wide Web Search Engines, and there are many search engines available. You can click on the Search button available in either Netscape or Internet Explorer to search for information on the Web, or you can go directly to a specific search engine page by entering the URL for the engine that you want to use.

Search engines vary in their methods of searching and in the numbers of pages that they search. Visit these Web pages for charts that compare search engine features:

To get the best results you will want to perform a search using more than one search engine, or conduct your search using a meta-search engine that will query multiple search engines simultaneously. For an excellent detailed guide on using web search engines link to The University of California at Berkeley's Finding Information on the Internet: A Tutorial.

Searching Shortcut

Often you can find what you're looking for on the Web without using a search engine or directory. Follow these steps to "guess" the URL for the relevant Web page.

• Start the address with www (you can omit the http://)
• Add the name or abbreviation of the organization (e.g., aspca, microsoft, nasa, sony )
• Add the appropriate top level domain:
  • com for commercial
  • edu for educational
  • org for organizations
  • gov for U.S. government
• For example, use this method to find the Web address for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). If you guessed www.epa.gov, you found the page for the EPA.

List of Popular Search Engines

All The Web, All The Time (Fast) http://www.alltheweb.com/

All the Web, All the Time is the trademark for FAST's Web search engine, http://www.alltheweb.com. All the Web supports the plus/minus system, and the "Advanced Search" option includes a drop down menu with choices for "all of the words," "any of the words," or "the exact phrase." Specialized searches are available for WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), MP3, FTP, and multimedia resources. All the Web also offers customization features. (As of August 2001, the 2nd largest search engine.)

AltaVista http://www.altavista.com/

Provides good search tips and provides a visual breakdown of search results. The "Simple Search" option supports the plus/minus system. The "Advanced Search" option supports the Boolean operators, AND, OR, and AND NOT, and truncation. Both search options support phrase searching, and the "Advanced Search" supports the Near operator. AltaVista has a web page translation service that allows you to input the address of any web page and have that page translated from English to Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese or Spanish. Translation from these languages to English is also possible. AltaVista also offers specialized searching for Images, Shopping, Video, MP3/Audio, News, Autos, Real Estate, and Tech. To avoid retrieving adult Web pages AltaVista now offers an optional family-filtered search option.

Excite http://www.excite.com/

Excite is one of the smaller databases, but it features advanced personalization options. Boolean operators must be entered in UPPER case. Truncation is not supported.

Google http://www.google.com/

Google is a search engine that uses mathematical formulas to rank a web page based on the number of "quality" pages that link to it. This approach enables Google to retrieve high quality sites and list them first in their search results. Google uses an implied Boolean AND operator, retrieving only those pages that contain all of the keywords entered in the search. No plus sign or AND operator is necessary. Google automatically retrieves pages with keywords in close proximity. Google maintains a cached archive that provides access to pages at the time they were indexed. Limits include language, domain, date, and adult content. (As of August 2001, the largest search engine.)

HotBot http://hotbot.lycos.com

The advanced search features of HotBot make it a popular choice for searchers. Full Boolean searching is available. HotBot also supports the plus/minus system, phrase searching, and truncation is available by using an asterisk (*). HotBot can also search for pages with certain features such as JAVA applets, a variety of image and audio files, and embedded scripts. Check HotBot's FAQ for a current list of searchable fields and features. HotBot has a language limit for English, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish.

Lycos http://www.lycos.com/

Lycos uses the plus/minus system, phrase searching, but does not support full Boolean searching or truncation. The "Advanced Search" option uses the Fast database and offers a drop down menu with choices for "all the words," "any of the words," or "the exact phrase." The "Advanced Search" option also supports limits, including: title words, URL, domain, and language.

MSN Search http://search.msn.com

MSN Search is both a directory and a search engine. The "Basic Search" displays few options, but the "Advanced Search" features a wide range of options, including Boolean searching, field searching, and limits. The truncation option is not reliable. MSN Search uses an implied AND operator for multiple search terms. (As of August 2001, the 3rd largest search engine.)

Yahoo http://www.yahoo.com/

Yahoo is a directory that categorizes web pages similar to the Yellow Pages. It is a good place to look for specific Web addresses for companies, organizations, educational institutions, etc. Yahoo supports the plus/minus system, phrase searching, and provides automatic truncation.

Meta-Search Engines

Meta-search engines (also called multi-threaded search engines) query multiple search engines simultaneously. The advantage to using them is that a search is only entered once. The disadvantage to using them is that different search engines interpret the search statement in different ways, often retrieving irrelevant results. A meta-search engine retrieves fewer results from each search engine than a direct search in an individual search engine would retrieve.

 

Ask Jeeves	http://www.askjeeves.com/
Big Hub	http://www.bighub.com/
C4	http://www.c4.com/
Debriefing	http://www.debriefing.com/
Dogpile	http://www.dogpile.com
Highway 61	http://www.highway61.com
Mamma	http://www.mamma.com/
Metacrawler	http://www.metacrawler.com
Profusion	http://www.profusion.com/
Verio	http://search.verio.net
Vivisimo	http://www.vivisimo.com/

Subject Directories

Using subject directories in a more efficient method for locating reputable sites. Subject directories review web pages and include links to selected pages. Subject directories vary in the level of selectivity they use, but overall these sites are excellent sources for finding academic material on the web.

Refining Searches

• Boolean Operators (logical search operators)
• Plus/Minus System
• Phrases
• Truncation
• Domain Searching

• Note: Not all search engines allow all of these features. Also, capitalization and punctuation are handled in various ways.
  Check the instructions and/or help pages for a specific search engine to learn what features are available.

Boolean Operators (logical search operators):

And: searches for two or more concepts in the same document; narrows retrieval
Example: the search cats and dogs will retrieve pages that contain both the word cats and the word dogs, but it will not retrieve pages that contain only the word cats or only the word dogs.

Or: searches for two or more concepts, but not necessarily in the same document; broadens retrieval
Example: the search cats or dogs will retrieve pages that contain both the word cats and the word dogs, pages that contain only the word cats, and pages that contain only the word dogs.

Near: searches for two or more concepts in the same document within a certain distance from each other or in the same field (for instance, within 10 words of each other)
Example: the search chicago near museum retrieves pages with the word chicago and the word museum no 5 further than 10 words apart.

Not: searches for one concept but not another; narrows retrieval
(Note: Some search engines use And Not)
Example: the search jordan not michael will retrieve pages with the word jordan, but it will not retrieve pages that contain both of the words michael jordan.

Plus/Minus System: most of the search engines allow use of a + - (plus/minus) system. Place a + (plus sign) directly in front of a term that must appear; place a - (minus sign) directly in front of a term that must not appear.
Example: +bears -NFL will retrieve pages about bears and exclude pages about the NFL's Chicago Bears

Phrases: most of the search engines will allow you to search for a phrase by enclosing it in quotes.
Example: "tyrannosaurus rex" will retrieve pages with that specific phrase.

Truncation: allows you to use a wildcard character with the base of a word to retrieve all possible endings.
Example: educat* will retrieve pages with the words: educate, educates, educated, educator, educating, education, educational, etc. Truncation can be used in combination with Boolean operators.

Domain Searching: allows you to limit your retrieval to a particular domain (.edu, .org, .com, .gov, .net, or any 2-letter country domain).
Example: domain:ca limits retrieval to Web pages that have the country domain for Canada, e.g. http://www.ec.gc.ca
Example: domain:edu limits retrieval to Web pages that have the education domain, e.g. http://www.umt.edu

Search Exercises

Search Exercise 1: Use Yahoo to find the Web page address for the Wake Forest University Library.

Search Exercise 2: Use Ask Jeeves to display the current time in Sydney, Australia.

Search Exercise 3: Use Boolean operators in HotBot to to find the name of the parasite that causes whirling disease in trout.

Search Exercise 4: Use the simple search in Excite to find the height of The Sears Tower.

Search Exercise 5: Use the simple search in AltaVista to find the latest El Nino forecasts and research.

Search Exercise 6: Locate an electronic version of Jane Austen's book, Sense and Sensibility.

Search Exercise 7: Use All the Web, All the Time to find a critical bibliography of Kurt Vonnegut.

Search Exercise 8: Find the official web site for the computer game, Riven.

Search Exercise 9: Use a subject directory to find recordings of frog sounds.

Search Exercise 10: Where is the Dickson Mounds Museum and what hours is it open?

Solutions for Search Exercises

Search Exercise 1: using Yahoo, enter wake forest library in the search box.
Solution: Here is the web page for Wake Forest University's Z. Smith Reynolds Library.

Search Exercise 2: using Ask Jeeves, enter what time is it in Sydney, Australia? in the search box.
Solution: Click on the answer, and a Swissinfo web page will display the current time in Sydney, Australia.

Search Exercise 3: in HotBot, under the "Look for" option select "Boolean phrase" and enter "whirling disease" and parasite in the search box.
Solution: This page from the Whirling Disease Initiative provides the name of the parasite, Myxobolus cerebralis

Search Exercise 4: using the Excite, enter "Sears Tower" in the search box.
Solution: Use the "Building Facts" link on the Official Sears Tower Web Site to discover that the Sears Tower is 1454 feet tall.

Search Exercise 5: using the AltaVista Simple Search, enter el nino forecasts in the search box.
Solution: This NOAA El Nino Page includes links to current forecasts and research.

Search Exercise 6: using Google, enter Sense and Sensibility electronic in the search box.
Solution: Select this University of Maryland site to access an electronic version of Sense and Sensibility.

Search Exercise 7: using All the Web, All the Time, enter +vonnegut +critical +bibliography in the search box.
Solution: There is a link to a Critical Bibliography on this comprehensive Kurt Vonnegut Web site.

Search Exercise 8: using the Google, enter riven official in the search box.
Solution: Here is the official Riven web site.

Search Exercise 9: using Librarians' Index to the Internet, enter frog sounds in the search box.
Solution: Click on the link under Specific Resources to display this page, Sounds of North American Frogs. Click on More audio samples and pictures to hear the sounds of 14 North American frogs.

Search Exercise 10: using Yahoo, enter dickson mounds museum in the search box.
Solution: Dickson Mounds Museum is located on Routes 97 and 78 between Havana and Lewistown, Illinois. The museum is open daily from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.

Assignment #1

• Select one of the Search Engines discussed in this module and search for information relevant to your topic.
• Select one of the Subject Directories discussed in this module and search for information relevant to your topic.
• Compare and discuss the numbers of results retrieved between the search engine and the subject directory.
• Compare and discuss the type of information retrieved between the search engine and the subject directory.
• E-mail this assignment to your instructors

Module 4 Exam