WebTeach-Search

WebTeach

Search Smart searching on the web involves knowing the answers to: What? Where? How? Follow the WebTeach Search Steps to master this essential skill. Search Menu

1.Search Plan

2. Search Tools

3.Search Activity

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Search Plan

Without a search plan to approach the wealth of information available on the Internet, one becomes easily confused, frustrated and drained! When you design a search strategy, you plan how to look for information. The more care and thought you put into your search strategy, the more relevant your search results will be.

The purpose of a search strategy is

to save time
to search efficiently for information in different resources
to find relevant information

The first step in developing a search strategy is

to put your question into words, as specifically as possible
to identify keywords relating to the topic #2
to find additional terms to describe the topic
to select the best search tool(s)

Proceed toSearch Tools

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Search Tools

Search tools are web sites which search the web for you.

There are three types of search tools, and each uses different rules for collecting information.

These rules will often lead to very different sets of links on the same topic or question.

The first step in learning how to do smart searches is to learn the differences between directories,
search engines and meta-search engines.

General Search Tools Also see #7

Search Tools	Example	Description
Directories	Yahoo!	Group web pages, titles and citations into subject categories. Allows you to go from the very general to the highly specific. Good starting point to find keywords.
Search Engines	AltaVista	Explore web sites looking for a specific word or phrase. Good for particular words, answers to questions, or bits of information.
Meta-Search Tools	Metacrawler	Access multiple search engines and subject directories simultaneously. Good if overview of topic is needed.

There are many web sites in each of the search tool categories, and you will soon develop
your favorites.

You improve your chances of finding relevant information by using the right tool(s) for the job.

The chart below outlines the strengths of the most commonly used search tools on the WWW.

Search Tool Strengths

Search Tools	Strengths
Yahoo! Yahooligans! for Kids	General information and current news with subject directories in fourteen major categories. Lots of good sites for children with subject directories in six major categories.
AltaVista	Retrieves specific phrases, finds images or locates links to other sites. Searches titles and/or URLs.
HotBot	Retrieves image-only and graphics-only files in addition to specific phrases. Lists the most popular web sites on a given subject.
Lycos	Provides "Top 5% Sites" for best links about the subject being searched. Can do image-only and sound-only file searches.
Dogpile	Displays the wording of how the search was sent to each engine queried. Results are grouped by search engine.
Metacrawler	Organizes the results into a uniform format. Good for newcomer not familiar with other search engines.

Each search tool has its own rules for how to phrase a search question or topic. #1

All popular search tool sites provide a Help section that outlines rules to follow to achieve the best and
quickest results.

Visiting the search tool's Help section and familiarizing yourself with its rules is a sure way to cut down
search time.

URLs for the search tools noted above and their Help sections can be found at #6

Use your knowledge of web search tools in Search Activity.

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Search Activity

Source IS this THE SPAM I'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT? Why is this Spam smiling?

Different search tools will get different results.

Let's do a search for Spam in

Yahoo!, a directory
AltaVista, a search engine
Dogpile, a meta-search engine

You will go to these search tools to find information about Spam, and return to this page
to record your answers in the boxes provided after each search.

Before doing this exercise, be sure to "Bookmark" or "Favorites" this page so you can
return to record your answers.

Yahoo! is the most popular Internet directory.

When you get to Yahoo!, type "Spam" in the search box.

Record the number of "Category" hits and "Site" hits in the boxes below.

Review the contents of one (1) "Category" match and one (1) "Site" match.

To begin, double click on the above hyperlinked Yahoo!.

Type in number of "Category" hits for Yahoo!

Type in number of "Site" hits for Yahoo!
Type findings of first "Category" and first "Site" hit found within a directory search.

AltaVista is a search engine.

Again, conduct a search for the word Spam by typing "Spam" in the search box.

Record the number of hits, and review the first three.

Think about how they differ from Yahoo!'s?

Double click on the above hyperlinked AltaVista.

Type in number of hits for AltaVista.
Type findings of first three hits found within a search engine search.

Dogpile is a meta-search engine which accesses several search engines and directories.

Once again, conduct a search for the word Spam by typing "Spam" in the fetch box.

Record the number of hits. This time, review the first hit of each search engine.

Double click on the above hyperlinked Dogpile.

Type in number of hits for Dogpile.
Type findings of hits found within a meta-search engine search.

Which search tool produced the most effective results for the word Spam?

Yahoo! - a directory
AltaVista - a search engine
Dogpile - a meta-search engine

us with your answer!

You have mastered Search. Go on toCreate.

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