Internet Search Tools

Internet Search Tools Search Engines 1. Individual search engine: uses computer programs called “spiders”, “crawlers”, or “robots” to match key search words with the web pages that contain them • The results returned are lists of web pages and titles • Does not search the Internet itself, but instead searches databases of information about the Internet • Google.com, Ask.com, Yahoo Live 2. Meta-search engine: search engines for information to several search engines simultaneously and compiles the results 3. As the results are compiled, duplications are eliminated, thus yielding fewer results 4. A time-saver compared to regular search engine 5. Examples: Google Custom Search allows users to control their search by specifying name of the search engine, description, language, sites, etc 6. Subject directories: search databases that are developed and maintained by human selections of sites to search broad subject categories and their description • Used to research and often linked to library systems, research databases • Mostly made up of specialized searchable databases, such as library catalogs • Searches for non-HTML formats (PDF, Word, excel, Power Point) • Results in more reliable pages than search engines • http://informine.ucr.edu : compiled by academic libraries • www.Lii.org: Libraries’ Internet index • www.about.com 7. EBSCOhost: premium online information resources for institutions • Colleges and universities, hospitals and medical institutions, corporations • Government, K-12 schools, Public libraries 1. Librarysearch.com- a subsidiary of EBSCOhost 2. ERC: Education Resources and Information Center 3. CRS: Current Research and Information Center 4. Incywincy.com 5. Completeplanet.com 6. Google Scholar Internet Search Methods 8. Keyword: Unique phrases, synonyms, or word variations 9. Field: a search parameter such as title, date of publication. Useful for drilling down and focusing on specific content 10. Boolean Logic • Uses operators with keywords to narrow search parameters • Operations include AND, OR, and **+-NOT • AND narrows results by searching for pages that contain both keywords

•

OR expands results by searching for pages that contain either of the keywords • Quotation marks narrow results by searching for phrases 11. Boolean is implied to many search engines, but still a variable method for narrowing 12. Miscellaneous search methods • Different language support- searches fro words in different languages • Spell checker: gives suggestions if the word keyed for the search is misspelled • Phonebook: uses phone numbers to search for locations and addresses • Math/equivalent: solves basic math problems and converts equivalents