3. Expectations of Search Engine Users
“We expect a lot from
search engines. We ask
them vague questions
about topics that we are
unfamiliar and anticipate
a concise organized
response.”
“You would have better success if you laid your head on
the keyboard and coaxed the computer to read your mind.”
Understanding Search Engines: Mathematical Modeling and Text Retrieval
Michael W. Berry and Murray Browne
4. Why?
“Human uses of language
are often illogical, playfully
misleading, false or
nefarious, thus human
semantics can never be
made comprehensible to
machines.” Another example:
What is a hokie?
The Fate of the Semantic Web
Pew Internet & American Life Project
May 2010 http://pewinternet.org/2010/Semantic-Web.aspx
5. We must understand…
“Search engines have no
understanding of words or
language. (They) don't recognize
user intent, can't distinguish goal-
oriented search from browsing
search.” A ResourceShelf Interview:
20 Questions with Dr. Gary Flake, Ph.D.
Head of Yahoo! Research Labs
http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3372051
Thursday, June 3, 2004
6. Google Gullibility
“Many users are at the search engine's
mercy and mainly click the top links — a
behavior [called] Google Gullibility. Sadly,
while these top links are often not what they
really need, users don't know how to do
better.”
Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, February 4, 2008
User Skills Improving, But Only Slightly
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-skills.html
7. Objectives for Better Searching
• Search terms & tips
• Specific location
• File type
• Related pages
• Recommended other search engines
8. Phrase Search
Phrase Search - A phrase is more than one
keyword. When the terms are enclosed
within “double quotation marks,” Google
searches for them as exact phrase and
returns documents with the terms in the
exact order as stated in the query
Search: Vikings history
13. Title Field Searching
“The document title… is the single most
important element used by search
engines to index a document.”
Effective Internet Search: E-searching Made Easy!
– Edward N. Baylin and Judith Gill
mesopotamia
14. Title Field Searching
Title Field Search (intitle:) -Retrieves the
keyword or phrase in the webpage title
which appears in the title bar on the
browser.
intitle:mesopotamia
16. URL Limited Search
URL Field Search (inurl:) - Retrieves the
words in the webpage address. Words
in the webpage address may function
somewhat like a descriptor of the
webpage content
inurl:
18. inurl Search Results
NOTE:
The results are all different from
those returned with the one-
word URL query.
inurl: Dashed-Word Syntax
19. Site Limited Search
Precede your query with site: if you know
you want your answer from within a
specific site or type of site (.org, .edu). For
example: site:edu or site:nytimes.com.
– Top Level Domain
– Specific Website
– Countries
site:
23. File Type Searches
• Search for specific types of files, such as
PDFs, PPTs, or XLS, by
adding filetype: and the 3-letter file
abbreviation.
filetype:
25. Find Related Pages
Use the related: operator to find pages that
have similar content by
typing related:followed by the website
address. For instance, if you find a website
you like, try using related:[insert URL] to
locate similar websites.
related:URL address
27. Recommendation
Begin with a title field search with Boolean
expressions that is limited to a top level domain or a
specific website.
• intitle: “your topic”
• Boolean expressions – Add specificity to your query
• Top Level Domain – Who cares about your topic?
•Associations or Organizations - .org
•Educational Institutions - .edu
•U.S. Government - .gov
• Specific website - site:k12.va.us
28. Your Turn
PLAYING THE GOOGLE GAME
• With a partner, use the searching
techniques you have learned to answer
the following question.
• Record the search terms you use and the
number of results for each search.
• The team with the fewest number of
results wins!
What are the methods of tattoo removal that a
teen might consider?
29. Advanced Google Search Results
What are the methods of tattoo removal
that a teen might consider?
“tattoo removal” AND teen site:gov
30. References Used
• Barron, P. (2011). How Google Works: Are Search
Engines Really Dumb and Why Should Educators Care?
Virginia Association of School Librarians. Richmond.
• College, H. (2011, November 23). INFOGRAPHIC: GET
MORE OUT OF GOOGLE. Retrieved February 15, 2012,
from HackCollege Blog:
http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/2011/11/23/infographic
-get-more-out-of-google.html
• Common Craft. (2010). Web Search Strategies [Video].
Editor's Notes
42,100,000
12,400,000
Notice the .org .info and mesopotamia in the title
