Searching the Internet

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Searching the Internet
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Helpful Search Tips

• The internet contains billions of pieces of
  information. Knowing how to locate high-quality
  information from this network is an important,
  life-long search skill.
• The key to navigating through the Internet is to
  use the best search strategies and search tools
  that meet your information needs.

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ForSuRE

• Any good search needs to follow a plan
• ForSuRE is a good way of remembering the steps
  you should take as you search the internet.
• Focus
• Strategize
• Refine
• Evaluate

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Types of Search Tools

• Search engines computer programs that use
  electronic search programs called spiders,
  crawlers and robots to collect information
  sources.
• Especially helpful when searching for a focused
  topic with more than one keyword or phrase.
• Each search engine has a different way of
  arranging the results according to relevance and
  sponsored result lists.

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Types of Search Tools

• Metasearch engines like vivisimo they gather
  and combine the results of search engines.
• They are useful for giving a broad picture of
  what is available on the Web but do not offer as
  much precision as search engines.

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Types of Search Tools

• Subject Directories like the Librarians Index
  to the Internet they offer links to subject areas
  selected and maintained by experts.
• They should be used when a searcher is starting
  with a general topic it can provide fewer
  results but it may not be as up-to-date as search
  engines.

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Types of Search Tools

• Subject Portals or gateways like SearchEric are
  catalogs of selected content and annotated links
  to websites they can be used to find information
  about a specific topic.

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Types of Search ToolsDatabases

• Subscription Databases Web-based services
  purchased by schools and libraries that offer
  premium content, which is inaccessible by
  standard search engines.
• They can provide full-text magazines, newspapers,
  broadcast transcripts and reference content.
• Ex OPAC, GaleNet, SIRS Discoverer

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Types of Search ToolsDatabases

• Free Databases like the Library of Congress and
  the New York Times they offer free access to
  their archives, but students must register with a
  username and password.

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Search Vocabulary

• Database organized and searchable collections
  of materials that have been filtered and
  evaluated by publishers, editors and authors.
• Free Web The part of a Web page that is
  accessible by searching standard search engines.
• Internet A large international communication
  network that links million of individuals and
  computer networks electronically.

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Search Vocabulary

• Invisible Web Also known as the deep Web, is
  a large area of Internet that is inaccessible to
  search engines.
• OPAC Online Public Access Catalogue used to
  locate library materials. It is divided into
  sections you can search by (author, title,
  subject, keywords, call numbers) and you can also
  use the advanced search option to narrow your
  search.
• Query A formal information request that is used
  with search tools to locate websites that match
  an information need.
• Relevance This term refers to how closely a
  site/source matches your search criteria. Some
  search engines use special technologies to move
  the most relevant sites to the top of the result
  list important to understand when searching!!

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Search Vocabulary

• Sponsored Links These are links that are
  commercial. Corporations pay to have their
  websites at the top of a search list.
• They are not often relevant to your search.

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ForSuRE Steps to an Efficient Search

• Focus
• What is your mission or question?
• What might you need to change or tweak in order
  to improve your research in order to narrow or
  broaden your search?

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ForSuRE Steps to an Efficient Search

• Strategize
• Where will I find my information?
• What tools or sources will I use?
• What keywords/phrases or search terms will I use?

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ForSuRE Steps to an Efficient Search

• Refine
• Decide how you can improve your search results.
• Perform a self check How successful were you in
  your search?
• Might you need to tweak keywords or phrases?

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ForSuRE Steps to an Efficient Search

• Evaluate
• Did you find appropriate sources for your
  questions?
• Did you find credible/valid and reliable sources
  How do you know?

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Query Tips

• An important strategy when using search engines
  is to structure a solid query and to use an
  advanced search screen or boolean operators to
  narrow or broaden a search.
• How does one structure a solid query?

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Query Tips

• Brainstorm keywords/phrases
• Use synonyms or related words mine your
  results to narrow your search.
• Put the most important terms first
• Put keywords/phrases in quotations
• Use Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT in order
  to create a more targeted search (either to
  narrow or broaden).
• Use nouns not verbs
• Check your spelling