Searching Strategies

 

  Simple Searching

 Complex Searching

 Boolean Alternatives

 Phrase Searching

 Natural Language Searching

 Default Boolean Logic

Structure of a Search Page
 

Most of the search tools have a similar structure. All will include:

  • form for you to enter your key words
  • a button which will begin the search
  • Links to help pages and advanced search tools are normally located near the search form.
  • Many of the search tool offer special features and options.
  • Several search engines have also gone to offering subject categories. These are spaced around the page.

 

 Go to the Alta Vista Main Page and locate each of these items.

Simple Searching
  In order to be an effective searcher you must determine the key words related to your topic. It is a good idea to brainstorm a list of words before you attempt to search. Each search tool is different and a keyword that works on one may return no results in another. Spelling is very important!
  The easiest method to use a search engine is simply to type one or more key words in the search box and click on the search button. The search tool will return a list of hits relating to the keywords you entered. As you scroll through the list you will note that some look better than others.

Try a Simple Search
  • Go to Alta Vista
  • Enter a key word or words.
  • It is a good idea to use lower case letters since the engine will look for both upper and lower case. If you use upper case, the engine will look only for upper case.
  • You should get a page of results on which
    • each entry on the results page shows the title of the page as a hypertext link
    • the description of the page is listed , either as the first few words or as an annotation
    • the url is usually listed toward the end of the entry.
    • relevancy, or how well the "hit" matches your query are either listed at the beginning or the end of an entry.
  • Many search tools will allow you to modify the way in which the results are displayed. Look for this information on the page or in the help pages.
  • At the bottom of the results page should be a navigation tool which allows you to go to another page, the next page, or a previous page. These vary slightly, depending upon the tool.

Your results may be very good. Chances are, however, that the perfect match for your query is buried several pages deep, and you will become frustrated before you find the answer to your information problem.

Complex Searching
  To improve your searching efficiency, you should use Boolean Logic. Using the words and, or and not will refine your search.

 AND

 Connecting your keywords with AND tells the search tool that all the words must be present.

 OR

 Connecting your keywords with OR tells the search tool that any of the words can be present.

 NOT

 Using NOT in front of a keyword tells the search tool to exclude any page containing that word. Some engines require you to use AND NOT

 Examples

 garden AND vegetable
requires that any hit returned would include BOTH of the words.

 terriers OR poodles
will return pages which have EITHER of the words.

 cats NOT dogs
will return any pages that have cats in the text, but will exclude any that have the word dogs. This would exclude any pages that mention both cats and dogs.

Alternative Ways to Use Boolean Logic
  + and - may be substituted for AND and NOT respectively. It is a good idea to put + (plus sign) in front of any word you want to require and a - (minus sign) in front of any word you want to exclude.

 Examples

+garden +vegetable
requires BOTH words to be present

+cats -dogs
will return pages that have the cats, but will exclude any that have the word dogs

Phrase Searching
  When you are searching for a phrase, you should enclose it in quotation marks. The quotation marks tell the search engine that the words enclosed in quotes must be exactly as they are typed, and in the same order. Most search engines allow this protocol.

 Example

 "indoor soccer"
tells the search engine to look for the words as a phrase. Both words must be present and appear next to each other.

Natural Language Searching
  More and more engines are allowing a form of searching called natural language. This means that you can type in a sentence or question exactly as you would ask it. The engine will try to determine key words from your sentence or question and locate pages based on these words. Many that allow natural language require you to specify that you want to use natural language. Look carefully at the search form.

 Example

What are the battlefields of the Civil War?
The search engine will determine the key words battlefields and Civil War and do a search using those words.

Default Boolean Logic
  If you merely type key words into a search form as in a simple search, you must understand which of the Boolean operators is used as the default. Many of the search engines use OR as the default. If you type in two or more words, the engine assumes you mean OR. Only a few engines use AND as the default. This could radically affect your results!

Are you ready to try
some actual searches?
   

 What Are Search Tools?

 Searching Strategies

 Location and Access of Information

 Evaluating Skills

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