Search Engines

Useful Sites SearchEngineWatch www.searchenginewatch.com SearchEngineShowdown www.searchengineshowdown.com

SearchEngineWatch

www.searchenginewatch.com

SearchEngineShowdown

www.searchengineshowdown.com

Finding the Needle in the Haystack: Keyword Searches Search portals, such as Yahoo! and AltaVista use software called search engines that look for information on the Web based on queries or keywords A query is like asking a question A keyword can be any word you choose to search for A hit is a Web site that matches your query or keyword

Search portals, such as Yahoo! and AltaVista use software called search engines that look for information on the Web based on queries or keywords

A query is like asking a question

A keyword can be any word you choose to search for

A hit is a Web site that matches your query or keyword

Finding a Needle in a Haystack: Natural Language and Phrase Searches Natural language searching is a search method in which a query is expressed in the form of a question such as: Why is the sky blue? Phrase searching means searching for an exact phrase by enclosing the words in quotation marks such as: “ food poisoning”

Natural language searching is a search method in which a query is expressed in the form of a question such as:

Why is the sky blue?

Phrase searching means searching for an exact phrase by enclosing the words in quotation marks such as:

“ food poisoning”

Pinning Things Down Even Further Boolean logic is a system that uses operators to manipulate data, based on a simple yes or no ranking system Boolean operators include: AND/OR NOT/- NEAR/ADJ You can also combine operators to narrow your search even more

Boolean logic is a system that uses operators to manipulate data, based on a simple yes or no ranking system

Boolean operators include:

AND/OR

NOT/-

NEAR/ADJ

You can also combine operators to narrow your search even more

AND/OR The AND operator instructs the search engine to search for all documents containing one keyword AND another keyword dogs AND breeds The OR operator instructs the search engine to search for documents containing either keyword you specify dogs AND labradors OR retrievers

The AND operator instructs the search engine to search for all documents containing one keyword AND another keyword

dogs AND breeds

The OR operator instructs the search engine to search for documents containing either keyword you specify

dogs AND labradors OR retrievers

NOT/- The NOT (or - ) operator excludes documents containing a word you specify Simpsons NOT Homer

The NOT (or - ) operator excludes documents containing a word you specify

Simpsons NOT Homer

NEAR/ADJ The NEAR operator finds hits in which the two keywords are within 25 words of each other tornadoes NEAR Texas The ADJ operator stands for adjacent. It will only find documents in which one keyword is right next to the other George NEAR Washington

The NEAR operator finds hits in which the two keywords are within 25 words of each other

tornadoes NEAR Texas

The ADJ operator stands for adjacent. It will only find documents in which one keyword is right next to the other

George NEAR Washington

Parentheses with Power Parentheses , like in mathematics, identify which operations should be performed before other operations cars AND NOT (truck OR rental) Notice how different the results can be depending on the placement of the parentheses: 2*(4+8/2)=16 2*4+8/2=12 (2*4+8)/2=8

Parentheses , like in mathematics, identify which operations should be performed before other operations

cars AND NOT (truck OR rental)

Notice how different the results can be depending on the placement of the parentheses:

2*(4+8/2)=16

2*4+8/2=12

(2*4+8)/2=8

Using Real-Names Searches America Online created real-name searches to help its members find sites easily. Members simply had to type a keyword such as Rosie into AOL’s software to locate information about Rosie O’Donnell Some Internet companies like RealNames applied this concept to the Internet Try searching for the following sites by entering their real name in the address box of your browser: hp The Gap RealNames Panasonic DVD

America Online created real-name searches to help its members find sites easily. Members simply had to type a keyword such as Rosie into AOL’s software to locate information about Rosie O’Donnell

Some Internet companies like RealNames applied this concept to the Internet

Try searching for the following sites by entering their real name in the address box of your browser:

hp

The Gap

RealNames

Panasonic DVD

Search Engines Yahoo www.yahoo.com Google www.google.com AltaVista www.altavista.com Excite www.excite.com Ask www.ask.com

Yahoo www.yahoo.com

Google www.google.com

AltaVista www.altavista.com

Excite www.excite.com

Ask www.ask.com