Internet Search Engines

 

What are they?

Internet search engines are complex computer programs (also called spiders, robots, and worms) that search the Internet for the words you type into the search box. The results are returned in a ranked order.  Each search engine uses a different ranking system.  Some use the number of word occurrences, popularity, sponsored links, or another means.  Each search engine also searches different parts of the Internet and different elements of a web site.  Every search engine works differently.  This means one of the most important aspects of searching (aside from typing in the right words) is knowing how the search engine works.

 

Which search engine should I use?  Here are some suggestions:

 

 

Google is the search engine that librarians recommend most often.   It ranks web sites according to web popularity.  The sites that have the most links come up first.  This works well for finding information that is relevant (closely related) to the search topic.

 

Vivisimo is a meta-search engine.  This means it searches more than one search engine (for instance Lycos, Altavista, MSN) for your search terms.  In addition to ranking web sites, Vivisimo clusters them by topic so you can find groups of sites that are closely related.

 

How do I search?

 

  • Read the “help” screens or instructions to learn how the search engine works. 
  • Use correct spelling
  • Use only the keywords or most important words for your search (See keyword exercise)
  • Use Boolean operators to narrow of broaden your search:

AND  Example:  cloning and ethics   (Narrower search)

OR     Example:  ethics OR “moral issues”(Broader search)

NOT   Example:  cloning NOT sheep (Eliminates words)

  • Use quotation marks around words that belong together (i.e. “death penalty” )
  • Use truncation to find all forms of a word  (Note: this does not work in Google)

Find the root word ( the letters that different forms of the word share in common)

                    Add an * (asterisk).  To find: history, historic, histories           Use:  histor*

 

How do I print, e-mail, or save?

 

Once you locate your information, select File from the top menu, you will have the option to print, or save as (choose the y: drive).  Ask the librarian for help on how to e-mail or for any other questions you might have.

Go to Google  www.google.com

 

How many teaspoons of sugar are there in a can of soda?

 

What are the most important words for you search? (Remember to put quotes around words that should be searched as phrases.)

 

_________________________________    and ____________________________________

 

How many teaspoons of sugar does a soda contain?________________________________

 

Address for the webpage where you found the answer:

________________________________________________________________________



Name two endangered species in Kern County?

 

What are the most important words for you search? (Remember to put quotes around words that should be searched as phrases.)

 

________________________________    and _____________________________________

 

List two endangered species_______________________ and _________________________

 

Title of the web page __________________________________________________________

 

Address for the web page where you found the answer:

 

________________________________________________________________________

 

Go to  Vivisimo www.vivisimo.com

 

Find a site that has statistics on drunk driving in California.

 

What are the most important words for you search? (Remember to put quotes around words that should be searched as phrases.)

 

______________________   and ______________________ and ______________________

 

Address for the web page where you found the answer:

 

___________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Title of the web page_________________________________________________________________

 

 

What is the date of the most recent statistic?________________________________________