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Web Search Engines
Like the varied television networks
which send out programming content to viewers,
not all search engines are alike!
How They Work
Search Engines...
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build "Catalogs" also known as "Databases"
or "Indexes" to find information
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can only find the web pages in their
own catalog
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no catalog covers the entire Internet
Three techniques to build catalogs:
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active - collects information by itself
using a program called a spider or robot that travels around
the net, locates pages and adds them to the catalog.
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passive - allow people to register
their pages in directories.(Can become outdated).
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meta-search - forwards queries to other
search engines.
Types of Queries...
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simple queries - don't require much
thinking, but often yield too many hits. In general, search for singular,
not plural word forms. Use the Help, Options or Search Tips of a search
engine's main web page if you use simple queries.
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advanced queries - use operators
to narrow your search to more specific hits. The types of operators supported
by a search engine make up its query language and may be different
depending on the search engine you use.
Go to one of the search engine sites below. Enter keywords
related to topics of interest to you. See what related sites exist.
Search Strategies
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General- uses operator OR to link several key words
together, when you know very little about your topic.
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Specific - uses operator AND to join keywords together,
when you know alot about your topic. The more keywords you add, the narrower
your search, with less hits.
You can combine General and Specific searches
but be aware of how you group your key words.
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Incremental - Common sense strategy
to change your query if it doesn't produce the results you want. Note that
some search engines make this more convenient than others. Watch for features
that contain:
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No retyping.
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No backtracking.
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Substring search - allows you
to look for partial words, called substrings to get around having
to type all forms of a word. (For example, instead of typing the query:
tax OR taxes OR taxation; the keyword tax would match these). The advanced
query options of a search engine may allow substring searching to be turned
on and off.
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Search-and-jump - utilizes the
Find feature
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Category search - in theory,
are intuitive and convenient; yet you are at the mercy of the designer
who created the categories. (Example: Yahoo)
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Search-and-rank - depends on
the search engine. Select one that fits your needs.
Tips to speed up your search time:
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turn off image loading
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use a text-based browser
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make a homepage on your hard drive
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use the Back button
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use the Stop button
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upgrade your hardware: faster modem,
more RAM, hard drive, processor
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