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

• • www.exploritas.org

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