What to Know: 9 Essential Things to Know About Web Searching Janet Eke Graduate School of Library...

What to Know:What to Know:

9 Essential Things to Know 9 Essential Things to Know

About Web SearchingAbout Web Searching

Janet Eke Graduate School of Library and Information Science

University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana2003

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TopicsTopics

• 3 Essential Conceptual Things to Know About the Web.

• 3 Essential Practical Things to Know About General-purpose Search Tools.

• 3 Essential Useful Tips to Know About Search Strategy.

3 Essential Conceptual 3 Essential Conceptual Things to Know About the Things to Know About the

WebWeb

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What to know: Web conceptsWhat to know: Web concepts

1. Understand basic context and structure.

Know what the World Wide Web is.

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Key Terms DefinedKey Terms Defined

• The Internet is a global network of computers.

• The World Wide Web is a service running on the Internet. – it is the name given to a collection of documents

stored on computers connected to the Internet– these documents are written in a markup

language (usually HTML) and characterized by ‘hypertext links’

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• A web browser is a piece of software.– its purpose is to read and display web pages

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• To search the web, we use search tools accessed via web pages. – Search tools may be as simple as a list of

links, or as complicated as a large database of information gathered from web pages.

HTML tags define document structure

Web browser software interprets HTML and displays page

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2. Know the basic types of general-purpose search tools and how they work.– search engines versus subject directories

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Basic Web Search ToolsBasic Web Search Tools

• Both Subject Directories and Search Engines offer access via a web page to a database of information about web sites.

• The information in their databases, however, and the way this information is gathered, organized and maintained, is very different.

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Subject DirectoriesSubject Directories

• A subject directory searches a human-compiled database of web sites, organized into subject categories.

• The database includes the name and URL of the web site, plus a brief description.

• The database does NOT include individual web pages within the site.

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Search EnginesSearch Engines

• A search engine searches a computer-compiled database of information about individual web pages. There are no subject categories. No human examines the web sites.

• The database includes detailed information from the web site -- in some cases every word on every page is indexed; in others only selected portions are indexed.

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Directories VS EnginesDirectories VS Engines

UI LIS Current Clips: http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/clips/2002_12.html

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3. Bear in mind the implications of the structure of the Web environment and its search tools.– Web sources must be carefully evaluated.– Everything is NOT on the Web.– There is no such thing as a ‘live’ Web

search.– There is no such thing as a fully

comprehensive Web search.

3 Essential Practical Things 3 Essential Practical Things to Know About General-to Know About General-purpose Search Toolspurpose Search Tools

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General-purpose Search ToolsGeneral-purpose Search Tools

1. Know when directory results may be more useful than search engine results, and vice versa.

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Directories VS EnginesDirectories VS Engines

UI LIS Current Clips: http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/clips/2002_12.html

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E.g., Yahoo!E.g., Yahoo!Search keywords here

Or browse subject categories here

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Search Results: 5 typesSearch Results: 5 types

Blends site results from Google and Yahoo Directory

Yahoo Directory category matches

Types of results

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Search Results: Directory onlySearch Results: Directory only

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Yahoo Directory SiteYahoo Directory Site

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Google Directory Google Directory

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ExampleExample

• Find major earthquake engineering research centres.

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Category view

Annotated directory entries

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2. Know advanced search features and syntax, such as ‘search engine math.’

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Basic ‘Search Syntax’Basic ‘Search Syntax’

Searching Phrases

“” searches enclosed terms as a phrase

• Example:Find source and completion of quotation beginning: “went down to the station to look

for her there”

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Without Quotation MarksWithout Quotation Marks

First results NOT relevant. Terms are scattered in documents.

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Search terms as a phraseSearch terms as a phrase

Enclose terms in quotes to search as a phrase.

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Full album is in one web pageFull album is in one web page

Use browser to search pageUse browser to search page

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Basic Search SyntaxBasic Search Syntax

+ -- include term

- -- exclude term

* -- truncation symbol (AltaVista)– allows for 5 characters at end of word– use to search plurals / alternate endings– e.g., computer* retrieves ‘computers,’

‘computerized,’ etc.

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Advanced Search SyntaxAdvanced Search Syntax

• Field searching

• Format:

fieldname:TERM

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Advanced Search SyntaxAdvanced Search Syntax• Field Searching Examples

title:drucker searches for ‘drucker’ only in title of web page (Google: intitle)

url:hoovers searches for ‘hoovers’ anywhere in the web address (Google: inurl)

domain:ca searches for ‘ca’ (canada) only in the domain portion of the web address

link:www.hoovers.com searches for pages that link to www.hoovers.com

lyrics site:j-tull.com searches for the word ‘lyrics’ within the site www.j-tull.com (Google)

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ExampleExample

• Search for Canadian federal election results.

“federal election” domain:ca

– retrieves documents containing BOTH the phrase “federal election” in the text, and the

domain “ca” in the web address

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ExampleExample

• Search for a good list of international phone directories.– we already know a good Canadian online

phone directory

– strategy: see what other sites link to it

link:canada411.sympatico.ca

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Google SearchGoogle Search

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Listing of Web Phone Dirs.Listing of Web Phone Dirs.

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Google Advanced SearchGoogle Advanced Search

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3. Know where to go to learn more quickly.– what search tools are out there?– what are their advanced features?– where do they get their results?– is there a more specialised search tool for my

topic?

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Search Engine WatchSearch Engine Watchwww.searchenginewatch.comwww.searchenginewatch.com

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Search Engine WatchSearch Engine Watchwww.searchenginewatch.comwww.searchenginewatch.com

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Search Engine WatchSearch Engine WatchSearch Features ChartsSearch Features Charts

http://www.searchenginewatch.com/facts/ataglance.html

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Search Engine ShowdownSearch Engine Showdownwww.searchengineshowdown.comwww.searchengineshowdown.com

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Search Engine ShowdownSearch Engine ShowdownSearch Tool In-depth ReviewsSearch Tool In-depth Reviews

3 Essential Useful Tips to 3 Essential Useful Tips to Know About Search Know About Search

StrategyStrategy

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Search StrategySearch Strategy

1. For some topics, consider using general-purpose search tools to search for sources, not for directly for content.

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ExampleExample

• What is the provenance of the Leonardo da Vinci painting “Virgin of the Rocks” in the National Gallery (UK)?

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Direct search in GoogleDirect search in Google

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Direct search in GoogleDirect search in Google

Results may be useful. Need to examine and evaluate individually. No source stands out as useful for future provenance searches.

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Search for general topic, to find Search for general topic, to find sourcesource

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Search for general topic, to find Search for general topic, to find sourcesource

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2. Find expert sources by asking yourself, Who cares about this topic?

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The ‘Who Cares?’ strategyThe ‘Who Cares?’ strategy

• Ask Who cares about this?– Rather than searching for the info needed,

find out if someone has already gathered it together for you

• identify a likely organisation and its web site

• use specialised tools to find ‘guru pages’ and subject guides

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Strategy: Who cares?Strategy: Who cares?

• Is there an organisation or person interested in this problem?

– Is there a government agency responsible for collecting or disseminating this info?

– Would a trade association be interested on behalf of its members?

– Has a university department or independent scholar or hobbyist created a subject guide?

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ExampleExample

• Where can I find coal production statistics for the US?

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ExampleExample

• Where can I find coal production statistics for the US?

• Who cares?– United States Geologic Survey (USGS)– often government agencies are responsible

for compiling statistics

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Government AgencyGovernment Agency

US Geologic Survey publishes the Minerals Yearbook.

Sample: Coal Product statistics

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3. Build a core collection of specialised search tools beyond general-purpose subject directories and search engines.– collect sites useful for searching your subject

area– develop a workable way to organise and

access them

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http://www.census.gov

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Powermarks bookmark utility -- creates searchable database of bookmarked sites; easy to organise, weed, and search.

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Powermarks bookmark utility -- creates searchable database of bookmarked sites; easy to organise, weed, and search.

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SummarySummary

• 3 Essential Conceptual Things to Know about the Web:– Know what it is; know basic definitions and

components involved.– Know that there are two basic types of

general-purpose search tools, and how they work.

– Bear in mind implications of structure for how searches work, and limitations of the Web.

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SummarySummary

• 3 Essential Practical Things to Know about General Purpose Search Tools:– Know when directory results may be more

useful than search engine results, and vice versa.

– Know advanced search features and syntax, such as ‘search engine math.’

– Know where to go to quickly learn more.

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SummarySummary

• 3 Essential Useful Tips to Know About Search Strategy:– Consider using general-purpose search tools

to search for sources, not for directly for content.

– Find expert sources by asking yourself, Who cares about this topic?

– Build a core collection of specialised search tools beyond general-purpose subject directories and search engines.

What to Know: 9 Essential Things to Know About Web Searching Janet Eke Graduate School of Library...

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