Effective Online Searching

Due to the sheer size of the World Wide Web, finding relevant information demands very specific searching skills and techniques. Learning how to choose the right search engine and practicing effective search methods helps minimize the irrelevant and offensive material that can turn up in a search.

Choosing the right search engine

The first step is to become familiar with the different types of search engines and the various services they provide. There are hundreds of search engines from which to choose, and there are several distinct styles of gathering, grouping and presenting information.

For example, “Ask Jeeves” permits users to type in questions. “Google” ranks results by importance and relevance of the site. “Yahoo!” has a directory where you can search by topic. “Vivisimo” clusters search results into categories selected from the words and phrases contained in the search results. Some search engine features may be better suited to a specific type of search than another.

Most of us use just one search engine, and often settle for the first, relevant Web site on the list. Some researchers advise using more than one search tool because each offers different features, and also because no search tool can access the billions of Web pages on the Internet. According to researchers, no single search engine captures more than 16 per cent of the entire Internet – and all search engines, combined, capture less than 50 per cent of online information.

Many of the major search engine sites now offer “parental filters” that, when activated, block offensive sites that may appear in your search results. It is important to note, however, that these filters are not foolproof. A 2003 report from the Harvard Law School states that the parental controls offered on “Google”, block many harmless Web pages including ones from the White House, IBM and the American Library Association.

On most search engines, companies can pay to have their sites appear during a search. These paid listings are usually separated from the main editorial results and identified as “sponsored links.” For example, “Google” places sponsored links on the right-hand side of the page away from editorial content. “Altavista”, on the other hand, incorporates them into the search results list, which can be misleading.

Conducting your search

Finding the right search engines is only the beginning. Developing effective search techniques greatly improves your chances of accessing quality information.

Here are some helpful tips from the Media Awareness Network Web site:

• Use six to eight key words, preferably nouns.
  
• Most users submit only one or two key words per search, which is not enough for an effective query.
  Avoid verbs, and use modifiers if they help define your object more precisely, e.g. “feta cheese” rather than just “cheese.”
  
• Combine key words into phrases by using quotation marks, as in “solar system.” Most search engines will only look for this phrase rather than the individual words, solar and system.
  
• Spell carefully, and try alternative spellings.
  
• Some search engines use a method known as BOOLEANto fine-tune a search. The three most common BOOLEAN commands are “and,” “or” and “and not.”
  
  
  
  
  • “and” or “+” between key words means: “I want only documents that contain both or all words
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  • “or” between key words means: “I want documents that contain either word; I don’t care which
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  • “and not” or “-” means: “I want documents that contain this word, but not if the document also contains another word” (i.e. “teens and not sex”). The term “and not” applies only to the word or phrase immediately following.

Most search engines offer “advanced search” options. However, few people bother to use them even though they can make a big difference to the quality of their search results. A 2003 British study shows that only 10 per cent of Internet users refine their searches using the options search sites offer. Once you have found the information you want, confirm its accuracy by locating at least three other independent online sources that point to the same answer. This is known as the triangle method.