III-B. Using Search Engines

 [Previous] [Beginning] [Next]
  1. Using Primary Search Engines

    1. Primary Search Engines are the most commonly used type of search engine
    2. They are not all the same! They vary with respect to:

      1. database size (how much of the WWW their "spiders" inspect and catalog)
      2. database content (URL, keywords, homepage or entire site)
      3. syntax used (see below)
      4. how they rank results (paid placement, recent update, popularity, etc.)
      5. Don't give up on a search until you've tried at least 2 to 3 search engines and/or metasearch engines
      6. Some examples of popular Primary Search Engines

        7. Google - The largest database (accesses over 8.5 billion URLs), excellent relevance ranking, "similar pages" and caching feature, also searches Open Directory categories. Doesn't support full Boolean searching. Indexes many PDF documents.

        Teoma - A new search engine, still in beta, that returns hits grouped by topic and by "expert links" (web sites created by individual enthusiasts or "fans")

        All-The-Web - Second only to Google in size. Moderately sophisticated search capabilities in the advanced mode. Processes quickly.

        Northern Light - Moderate-sized database, includes some newspapers and newswires, allows full Boolean searching, clustering of results, good relevance ranking.

    3. Primary Search Engine Syntax

      1. To begin a search, you enter one or more search words, select a search style, and press Enter or click a button.
      2. Most Primary Search Engine sites offer three basic search styles: Any Words, All Words, and Exact Phrase. The results of a search can be wildly different depending on the style you choose:

        1. Any Words - This search's result lists all the indexed pages that contain any of the search words. For example, a search for Martin Luther King birthdate would return all the pages containing the word "martin" as well as all the pages containing the word "luther," "king" and "birthdate." In other words you'd get pages referring to Steve Martin, Luther Ginsberg, King George III, and who knows whose birthdate. This type of search will often yield an immense number of results. If the search site does a good job of ranking by relevance, however, you may find what you need near the top of the list. An "Any Words" search can be useful when you're unsure of your search words. If you don't know whether the scientific name for a blood-pressume guage is "sphygmomanometer" or "sphygnomanometer," try an "any words" search using both

        2. All Words - This type of search lists all indexed pages that contain every one of the search words, in any order. there's still a possibility of off-topic results. for example, an "All Words" search on Martin Luther King birthdate may return a page with the vital statistics of NBA draft prospect Leon Smith, including his birthdate and the fact that he attended Martin Luther King high school

        3. Exact Phrase - This search lists all indexed pages that contain the exact phrase entered, ignoring punctuation. Sites on the same topic that are described using a different phrase won't appear. However, even this type of search can yield spurious results. Again, using Martin Luther King birthdate, a search might find a page listing an individual's special interests: "Most Admired Person, Dr. Martin Luther King; Birthdate: January 16th."

      3. Most search sites offer more than the three simple search types, either on their main pages or on a page titled Power Search or Advanced Search. Different sites support different features

      4. Click here for more detail on search engine syntax

  2. MetaSearch Engines

      3. Since MetaSearch engines can search multiple Primary Search Engines simultaneously, Why not just use a metasearch engine for every search?

    1. They aren't guaranteed to cover all the largest Web databases
    2. They do unknown things with your search statement syntax
    3. Because they screen the results, they frequently give you only a limited number of listings from each site
    4. But the best of them are a quick, useful supplement to search engines
    5. Some examples of popular MetaSearch Engines

      6. Vivisimo - Searches a selection of high-quality resources and presents results in categories which, in turn, can be searched. Includes FASTSearch, MSN, Alta Vista, Excite.

      Ixquick - A very good compilation metasearch tool -- translates your search syntax, doesn't run searches on engines that can't accept them, compiles search results and eliminates duplicates, assigns stars for number of appearances in top ten. FastSEARCH, MSN, WiseNut included.

      Metor Search - Search capabilities are unsophisticated, but you can set the length of time to spend searching, the list of engines searched is right up front, and they include FASTSearch, Northern Light, Hotbot, and Lycos. Good relevance ranking.

  3. Subject Guides

    1. Since Subject Guides work much like the indexes in the back of a book, they are most useful in searching for broad topics
      2. Some examples of popular Subject Guides

      Yahoo! The grandaddy of all the Subject Guides. An extensize collection of well-organized links to almost any subject imaginable.

      About.com Authoritative human guides select, organize, and annotate sources, and it shows.

      Open Directory Project Another human-edited subject resource with well-chosen and annotated sources.

  4. Sources of Additional Information on Search Engines

    1. To access a great collection of search engines, go to Langenberg Search Directory
    2. To get an idea of the capabilities of various Subject Guides and Search Engines, take look at this this chart published in the September, 2001 issue of PC World magazine.
    3. Examples of (and access to) most of these search engines can be found at www.researchville.com which, incidentally, is a great site for general research tasks
    4. Tutorials on using several of the major search engines as well as current information and updates on them can be found on www.searchenginewatch.com. Comparisons of search engines' syntax as well as of their coverage, speed, etc.) can be found at Search Engine Showdown
    5. Lookoff.com is a site that helps you choose the best search engine for the job, and the University of Albany has created site worth looking at called "How to Choose the Best Search Engine for the Job"
    6. To learn what the most popular search topics are at any given time you can turn to Google Zeitgeist for a look at the most popular, most rapidly declining, most rapidly increasing, etc. search topics for the month
      [Previous] [Beginning] [Next]