Learn to search the Internet effectively and efficiently.
Transcript of Find It On The Net
1. How Do I Find It On The Net? Mohsen Rahnamaie Thousand Oaks
Library 03/18/10
2. Introduction
In this presentation, we look at some of the best sites on a
variety of topics.
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3. Categories
Search engines
Subject lists
Reference Sources
Government directories
Consumer information
Health information
Travel
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4. Search Engines
Search engines allow users to find words or subjects on a
web-wide scale.
They search millions of web documents for your keywords through
a computer-created database.
They allow advanced searching techniques.
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5. Search Engines
Google
Ask
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6. Google
the largest and most popular Internet search engine
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7. Google 03/18/10
8. Googles Advanced Search 03/18/10
9. Ask
Narrow or broaden your search with possible alternative search
terms which appear on the right hand side of the Ask results
page.
Point your mouse on the Binoculars icon and a preview of the
site will appear.
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10. Ask 03/18/10
11. Getting the Most From Your Searches 03/18/10
12. Getting Started
Learn about the various engines
Including help files and FAQ files.
Use search strategies -- build your search.
Try more than one search engine.
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13. Possible Search Questions
Find current gas price for California metropolitan areas
Check to see if a particular acupuncturist is licensed by the
state
Whats the web address for the Norah Jones fan club?
03/18/10 These questions can be answered by using a search engine
and appropriate search words.
14.
What is your question?
What are the keywords?
Input the terms.
Examine the results.
Try again if needed.
Search Strategy 03/18/10
15. Beyond the Search Engines 03/18/10
16. A Note About Metasearching
Metasearch engines search multiple search sites:
clusty.com
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17. Clusty
It works as a clustering engine:
Automatically organizes the results in meaningful groups.
www.clusty.com/
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18. Subject Lists
Subject lists are organized indexes that allow you to browse
through lists of web sites by subject or topic.
Subject lists are created by people.
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19. Subject Lists
Excellent for browsing
Like visiting a library
Clearly defined subjects
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20. Who Creates Subject Lists?
Libraries
Nonprofit organizations
Dot-com businesses
But they are probably portals too
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21. A Sampling of Subject Lists
About.Com
www.about.com
Refdesk.Com
www.refdesk.com
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22. About.com
1 million annotations.
Subject specialists maintain the topic pages.
You can write to the specialists and ask questions.
www.about.com
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23. RefDesk.com
Extensive, searchable collection of links.
Major Features:
Current News and Weather
Facts-At-a-Glance
Help and Advice
www.refdesk.com
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24. Subject Lists
Do not search beyond their user-defined databases -- if they
search at all
Do not allow advanced search strategies
Sometimes contain dead links if not maintained
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25. Reference Sources
Answers.com
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26. Answers.com
Answers.com offers free access to millions of topics from the
world's leading publishers.
Download 1-Click Answers software for Windows and then
Alt-Click on any word in any program on your screen for a pop-up
window with a concise AnswerTip
www.answers.com
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27. 1-Click Answers Software
http://tinyurl.com/9y4w7
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28. Government Directories
USA.gov
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29. USA.gov
Official website for searching the U.S. Government
Users can search by using the search engine or browse by the
branch of the government
Includes state and local government sources.
www.usa.gov
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30. Consumer Information
Consumersearch.Com
USA.gov
Shopzilla
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31. Consumersearch
A great starting point to research a product
Categories include: electronics, automotive, office, sports
& leisure, etc.
www.consumersearch.com
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32. USA.gov
The Consumer Guide link on this site is a portal to a broad
range of federal information resources available online.
www.usa.gov
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33. Shopzilla.com
One of the largest and most comprehensive online shopping
networks on the web.
Find the best value for virtually anything you want to buy from
thousands of online retailers
www.shopzilla.com
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34. Health Information Resources
MedlinePlus
NIH Senior Health
NCCAM
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35. MedlinePlus
Sponsored by the national library of medicine
Easy to search
Info about diseases, drugs, doctors and hospitals
www.medlineplus.org/
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36. Senior Health
This website for older adults was developed by the National
Institute on Aging and the National Library of Medicine, both part
of the National Institute of Health.
www.Nihseniorhealth.gov
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37. NCCAM
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
(NCCAM) is the Federal Government's lead agency for scientific
research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)
nccam.nih.gov
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38. Travel
Fodor
Travelzoo
Exploritas (Elderhostel)
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39. Fodor
Excellent interface for researching vacation destinations
around the world
Overview of local sites and activities
Reviews of restaurants, hotels, shopping, and handy information
like weather and maps
www.fodors.com
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40. Travelzoo
Lists sales and specials from more than 300 companies.
Supersearch option for searching multiple travel sites.
www.travelzoo.com
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41. Exploritas (Elderhostel)
Provides learning experiences for people 55 and over