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Searching the Web

Searching the Web. VCCS Commonwealth Course. Two types of Questions on a Search Engine:. Specific Question: easily phrased question with an answer that is quickly recognized. Example: What is the population of VA?

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Searching the Web

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  1. Searching the Web VCCS Commonwealth Course

  2. Two types of Questions on a Search Engine: • Specific Question: easily phrased question with an answer that is quickly recognized. Example: • What is the population of VA? • Exploratory Question: an open ended question that is hard to determine the answer. Example: • What started the Gulf War?

  3. Search Engine • A special that kind of web page that finds other web pages that match a word or phrase that you have entered.

  4. Search Expression • The word or phrase that you type in. • Also called a query

  5. Other Terms in Search Engines • Hit: a web site that was found in the search engine’s database. • Results Page: Hyperlinks page to the web pages that match.

  6. Web Robot • Called a bot or spider • A program that automatically searches the web to find new web sites and to update old ones.

  7. Meta Tags

  8. Meta Search Engine • A search engine that combines the power of multiple search engines.

  9. Search Engine

  10. Boolean Operators • AND – all must be true • OR – at least one must be true • NOT – excludes that word

  11. Wildcard Operator • * is the wildcard operator. • If you typed treat*, the search engine would find treaty, treatment, treats, treaties *

  12. Five Traditional Evaluation Criteria • Accuracy • Authority • Objectivity • Currency • Coverage

  13. Criterion #1: Accuracy • How reliable and free from error is the information? • Are there editors and fact checkers? • OncoLink (http://oncolink.upenn.edu) • Tobacco Control Archives (http://www.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/index.html) • The Onion (http://www.theonion.com)

  14. Accuracy of Web Resources • Almost anyone can publish on the Web • Many Web resources not verified by editors and/or fact checkers • Web standards to ensure accuracy not fully developed

  15. Criterion #2: Authority • What are the author’s qualifications for writing on the subject? • How reputable is the publisher?

  16. Authority of Web Resources • Often difficult to determine authorship of Web resources • If author’s name listed, his/her qualifications frequently absent • Publisher responsibility often not indicated

  17. Criterion #3: Objectivity • Is the information presented with a minimum of bias? • To what extent is the information trying to sway the opinion of the audience? • The National Right to Life Committee (http://www.nrlc.org) • NARAL (National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League) (http://www.naral.org) • Consumer Reports Online (http://www.consumerreports.org)

  18. Criterion #4: Currency • Is the content of the work up-to-date? • Is the publication date clearly indicated? • USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com) • Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 Edition (http://humanities.uchicago.edu/forms_unrest/webster.form.html

  19. Currency of Web Resources • Dates not always included on Web pages • If included, a date may have various meanings: • Date first created • Date placed on Web • Date last revised

  20. Criterion #5: Coverage • What topics are included in the work? • To what depth are topics explored? • The "Alternative" White House (http://www.whitehouse.net) • The Official White House (http://www.whitehouse.gov)

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