Open Source Search Tools for conferencesourcesearchtools of Open Search Tools: Tutorial
Search Tools for the Internet
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Transcript of Search Tools for the Internet
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Search Tools for the Internet
Adapted from: Kathy Schrock<http://www.capecod.net/schrockguide/>
M. Rosettis St. Augustine CHS
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Agenda
• Definition of a search engine• How a search engine works• Definition of a subject directory• How Subject Directories work• Meta Search Engines• Improving your Internet Use: search
strategies that work!
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What is an Internet search engine?
• An Internet tool which will search for sites containing the words that you type in as a search term
• Search engines search their own databases of information
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What are some search engines?
AltaVista
HotBot
Excite
Teoma
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How does a search engine work?
• Deploys a robot program called a spider or robot designed to track down Web pages, to follow the links these pages contain, and add information to their own database
• Each search engine has its own way of doing things – read the Help Files
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Search engine’s database
index
Spider or Robot
Every word on the page
or some words on the
page
Finds new pages or changed
information on a page
Internet
Search Engine’s Server
LAUNCHES
VISITS
CRAWLS
LOCATES
RETURNS
PRODUCES
SEARCHES
RECEIVES
How does a search engine work?
User
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What do the search results mean?
• Results are presented in order of relevance
• Beware: Web page designers often try spamdexing (embedding search terms many times in a hidden field)
• Engines use different methods of
collection – don’t be afraid to search using a number of Search Engines
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What is an Internet subject directory?
• Organizes Internet sites by subject
• User works down a series of menus
• Smaller than search engines
• Maintained by human beings
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What are some subject directories?
Yahoo Canada
Internet Public Library
Look Smart
About
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Directory’s searchable
index
Internet
Directory’s Server
VISITS
PRODUCES
SEARCHES
RECEIVES
Directory Employee
EVALUATES
ADDS and “CATALOGS”
Directory’s browsable categories
BROWSES
How does a directory
work?
User
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Choose a subject from the top menu
Navigation by clicking on links
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Choose a category
Number of Web Sites
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How can I improve my use of search engines?
• Read the help files
• Learn about truncated searches
• Learn about Boolean searching
• Learn about wildcard searches
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Truncated Searches
• A special symbol which allows you to search simultaneously for several words with the same stem
computer
Comput* computers
computingcomputer careerscomputations
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Wildcard Searches
• Let you search for numerous word versions
• Use the “?” symbol in your search word
• Example: m?n = man or men or msn wom?n = woman or women
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Boolean Searches
• Let you to broaden a search
• Let you to narrow a search
• Operate differently in each search engine
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How do I narrow a search using “and”?
• Using and will only provide links to sites which have BOTH of these words present
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How do I narrow a search even more?
• Using and twice will limit the search even more
• You will only get
pages that include
all THREE of the terms
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How do I narrow a search using “not”?
• Using not narrows the search by telling the search engine to exclude certain words
• AltaVista uses the
form and notelementary
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How do I broaden a search?
• Use of the word or will broaden a search
• Use or if two words
may be used
interchangeably
• Can use or more than once to get very broad
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Google: Advanced Search
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HotBot : Advanced Search Options
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Yahoo Canada : Advanced Search Options
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What is a ‘Meta’ Search Engine?
• does not create its own information database
• It searches the databases of other engines
• Allows you to look through many pages from different search engines at once
• Best to use only when you are having trouble locating information on your topic
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What are some Meta Search
Engines?
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Hints for searching
• Use unique keywords• Check your spelling• Use quotation marks around phrases • Try using different search engines• Read the help files
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Adapted from: Kathy Schrock
http://www.capecod.net/schrockguide/
M. Rosettis - School Library Information Centre - St. Augustine C.H.S.