1. Mechanics of effective searching: Teacher demonstration (Tips)
A curriculum for critical thinking and web research
Skill level: Beginning, intermediate, and advanced This plan is part of a
School level: Middle school (11–13 years old) critical thinking and web
High school (14–18 years old) research curriculum
developed by the International
Society for Technology in Education
Tips for teachers conducting searches using Bing™ (ISTE) and Microsoft.
www.microsoft.com/ education/criticalthinkin
♦ Go to http://www.bing.com/.
♦ On the Bing home page, in the search box, type
Bing Table of Contents, or click here.
♦ On the left side of the screen, under FAQ, you can find links to directions for
refining searches.
These directions can help you make the most of the Bing home page.
2. Refining searches
If you are having trouble finding what you want in your searches, remember that the
quality of your results depends a lot on the words that you use. Here are some tips to
make every search more effective:
♦ Make sure that you spell search words correctly. Remember to leave a space
between each word in your query.
♦ Use words that you would expect to find in the websites that you're looking for.
♦ Use the OR and NOT keywords to combine or exclude words. For example, if you
use tree NOT evergreen, you will get results for trees but not for evergreen trees.
This feature is currently available only in select countries and regions.
♦ Vary your search terms. A different word or phrase will return different search
results. Use fewer descriptive words, or try words that have a different but similar
meaning. For example, try alloy instead of metal or steel.
♦ Search for exact phrases by placing the search words within quotation marks. For
example, type “short evergreen tree” in the search field.
♦ A list of categories may appear at the top of the search results. Click a category to
see only the results associated with that category.
♦ Use “instant answers” keywords to focus your search. For example, to learn
information about an athlete, type athlete, followed by the athlete you want to
find. For more information, see Find instant answers. This feature is currently
available only in select countries and regions.
Notes
♦ Basic searches aren't case sensitive.
♦ Common words, such as a, and, and the are ignored, unless you use quotation
marks around them. For example, “a” car, “and” car, or “the” car.
♦ If your search includes a date, type the name of the month instead of the calendar
number.
♦ You don't have to type the word AND between your search words. By default, all
searches are AND searches.
♦ You can type up to 150 characters, including spaces, in the search box.
3. Customizing searches: Conducting advanced searches
The Advanced search feature allows you to limit your results to specific sites or domains,
sites from specific countries, and sites in specific languages.
Use the Advanced search feature to narrow the scope of your search.
Defining terms in searches
Dictionary and encyclopedic information
1. Go to http://www.bing.com.
2. To find the definition of a word, in the search box, type define or
definition, a colon, and the word that you want to define (for example:
definition:tantamount).
–or–
To find encyclopedic information, in the search box, type the subject.
3. Click the Search button , or press ENTER.