Effective Searching

1. Effective Searching Increasing Student Information Literacy Compiled by Mrs. Bruemmer, October 2007

2. What EXACTLY is the Internet? Let’s briefly look at this web page to get an idea of what the Internet is . . . and how it began! http://historyoftheinternet.org/

3. How BIG is the Internet? 2007 Estimate = about 30 BILLION Web Pages (Source: Pandia Search Engine News) Could I have a copy of the Internet sent to me so that I can put it on my floppy disk?

4. Can We Search ALL of the Internet? No, but we can search enough of the Internet to supplement our research projects. As the researcher, your job is to become a CRITICAL EVALUATOR that will determine the difference between VALID web site written by experts – and non-valid sites. You can learn more at www.big6.com but some Big 6 info is included in your packet.

5. 5 Criteria for Web Evaluation • Accuracy of Web Documents • Authority of Web Documents • Objectivity of Web Documents • Currency of Web Documents • Coverage of the Web Documents Source: American Library Association

6. Accuracy • Who wrote the page and can you contact him/her? • What is the purpose of the document and why was it produced? • Is this person qualified to write this document?

7. Authority • What credentials are listed for the author(s)? • Where is the document published? Check URL domain.

8. Objectivity • What goals/objectives does this page meet? • Determine if the page is a mask for advertising; if so, information might be biased. • View any Web page as you would an “infomercial” on television. Ask yourself why was this written and for whom? Watch for OPINION – you want FACTS and DATA . . . not OPINION. • How detailed is the information?

9. Currency • When was it produced? • When was it updated? • Is the information on the page outdated? • How many dead links are on the page?

10. Coverage • Are the links (if any) evaluated and do they compliment the document’s theme? • Does the page contain all images or is there a nice balance of text and images? • Is it free, or is there a fee, to obtain the information?

11. URL’s & Domain Names • URL = Uniform Resource Locator (web address) • Domain Names & suffix meanings: • .biz--businesses • .com--businesses, commercial enterprises • .edu--For educational institutions • .gov--United States government agencies • .info--For all uses .info--For all uses .net--For networks; Internet service providers .org--For non-commercial organizations NOTE: Anything that has a web address with the character ~ in it, is 99.9% of the time a PERSONAL web page.

12. What is a Search Engine? Search engines do not search the Internet itself, but instead search a database of information about the Internet. Some web sites are “submitted” to the search engine’s database. Some search engines use "spiders" or search robots to search the Internet and gather information which is saved into the search engine's database.

13. Search Engine Examples • AllTheWeb www.alltheweb.com • Ask.com (formerly Ask Jeeves) www.ask.com • Google / Onekey.com www.google.com • Lycos www.lycos.com

14. What is a Subject Directory? A Subject directory organizes Internet sites by subject. This allows student researchers to choose a subject and then view the list of resources in that category. A subject directory will not have links to every piece of information on the Internet. Since they are built by humans (rather than by computer programs), they are much smaller than search engine databases. Directory & Engine Source: Community Learning Network

15. Subject Directory Examples • Librarians' Index www.lii.org • About.com www.about.com • Yahoo! www.dir.yahoo.com

16. Meta-Search Engines? A meta search engine doesn't create its own database of information, but searches the database of other search engines instead. "Metacrawler", for instance, searches the databases of each of the following engines: Lycos, WebCrawler, Excite, AltaVista, and Yahoo. The newer www.answers.com compiles bits of information from a variety of sources – all on the same page.

17. The Best Way to Search “To narrow down your search results to manageable numbers, use a search engine that allows the use of boolean operators and enter as many keywords as possible. Try more than one search engine. Your results will vary. Make sure you use the Criteria for Web Evaluation when you are reviewing each web page. Try a Meta Engine to ensure that you have achieved good coverage of the Internet.

18. Tips For Excellence in Searching • Looking for a specific phrase? Use quotation marks. • Avoid single word searches. Use several words that describe what you are looking for. • Whenever you see the words “CLICK HERE”: DON’T! This is usually an advertisement. • Check the spelling of your “keywords” or “subjects”. Misspelled words will produce incorrect results. • Don’t ask the search engine or directory a question. Enter in keywords, which are just subject-specific words that involve your topic. • Use BOOLEAN OPERATORS.

19. Boolean Operators Boolean searching -- the operators AND, AND NOT, OR Example: You are searching for pizza with pepperoni and ham, but without mushrooms and sausage. Here's how your order will look using Boolean operators: pizza AND pepperoni AND ham AND NOT mushrooms AND NOT sausage NOTE: USE CAPITAL LETTERS FOR AND& NOT

20. Use the acronym NETS START NARROW USE EXACT PHRASES TRIM THE URL SEEK SIMILAR PAGES From Dr. Bernie Dodge, co-developer of the WebQuest concepts.

21. Research online encyclopedias & print materials in your LRC Search Britannica Online Need a demonstration? Just ask! Use OPAC: the online public access catalog that houses the library’s material records. Search by author, title, subject or keyword Print materials: books, reference books, periodicals

22. Visit: www.d91.net/cyberlibrary Above (left) is the icon for the KG LRC Cyber Library & Web Portal Above (right) is the icon for the KG Science Fair & Research Survival Site