Week nine’s lecture discusses using search engines, enabling us to research efficiently and effectively for study. It was described to us what a search engine was and then what a directory. A search engine is based on electronic functions; whereas a directory is filtered by humans. A variety of search engines were presented to us, for example yahoo.com, altavista.com and of course google.com. It was explained search engines generate information from the keywords we provide. Some problems that exist with search engines were also discussed, such as the results being too broad and not relevant to ones chosen topic and that there a too many results. A search engines construction was also revealed and we were shown the tools which make up a search engine's interface. The different ways to type queries were also discussed.
Workshop
List four strategies that will help structure a good search.
1. Use unusual and or specific words to narrow down your search.
2. Use multiple search engines instead of sticking to one.
3. Include symbols such as quotation marks, plus and minus signs in your querie to specify what you are looking for. For example if you are researching jaguars in context of a cat, instead of typing just "jaguar" use "jaguar + cat".
4. Use as many words as you can to narrow down the search and to get exactly what you want in the search results.
Complete the online quiz found at Siteseen.co.uk and list the answers to the questions.
Answers
Inca
Violet
Birchard
Alfred Lord Tennyson
Sea shells
Maps
Giacomo Puccini
Volcano
Basenji
Hieronymus Bosch
Waterloo
Ant
Leo
Siam
Mushroom
Orangutan
Pluto
Benito
Lizard
Napolean Bonaparte
Discuss the strategies you used to locate answers to the quiz.
The main stradegy I had was to use quotation marks and plus signs to narrow down the querie. It was helpful as I could find the phrases I wanted next to a another phrase I wanted through putting one phrase in quotation marks and the other in quotation marks then connecting them through the plus sign. Othe than that, just typing in the keywords of the question worked out fine.
Readings
The Spiders Apprentice
This site assists with some of the difficulties faced when using online search engines. It covers the basics of research on search engines for beginners. It suggests that one should analyse what one is trying to look for specifically for typing any queries. For example for broad topics, directories would be useful because the results are more critically filtered. It also covers areas such as refining a search, explains the use of metadata and ranking, and discusses different types of search engines, which are useful and why.
Search Engine Watch Tutorial
Search Engine Watch Tutorial covers types of word searches such as Boolean searches, refined word searches, extending the range of returned results and the use of related terms when searching. Therefore giving the reader a better understanding in how to do an effective search.
Web Search Strategies
This article is a resource for search engine information and tips. This site explains the Free Visible Web, Free Invisible Web and paid databases in the context of analysing which one would be effective in which search situation. It explains when to use a search database and when to use a search engines and gives clear examples of each making the information provided clear and easy to understand. It discusses a range of techniques and hint in typing a query in a search engine. It also list useful tips such as trying to guess the name of a site, using several search tools and to read the search tip information given in the search engine help.
The History of the Internet: (Chap 4 – Search Engines)
This article demonstrates how the first search engine originated with Archie, which employed the use of spider searching, to the development of gopher in 1981. The article goes into detail of how the use of search engines has developed through time.
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