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The closer to the top, the better! "Use quotes" Use + and - Use a * (wildcard) Use uppercase and lowercase letters appropriately
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Search Engine Tips and Activity
Elementary Level
Look at the graphic, it will help you search using
the Internet. In order to get good results from most search engines, follow
these five tips. Then, read why these tips will help you and search
for yourself! Print out the question page
to use for the search activity below.
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The closer to the top, the better! "Use quotes" Use + and - Use a * (wildcard) Use uppercase and lowercase letters appropriately
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Let's say you are doing a report on robins and need some good websites for information. Use the tips and answer the following questions in order to see how the search tips can help you.
Tip #1: The closer to the top, the better!
Links at the top of the list are usually the best, they match most, if not all of your search criteria.
Put + before terms that must be INCLUDED. Put - before terms that must be EXCLUDED. This should narrow your results.
Try it! Go to: http://www.google.com
First, search for robin.
How many results ? ___________________
Add +bird. How many results? ______________________
Add +Maryland How many results? _____________________
Add -symbol How many results? ____________________
Your search query should look like this: robin +bird +Maryland -symbol
The search engine will return ONLY those pages with the entire phrase within quotes. If no quotes are used, it will search for pages that include all of the terms, but in no particular order. Proper use of quotation marks could narrow your results.
Try it! Clear your search query from above.
Type migration of robins.
How many results? __________________
Add quotations marks around the words: "migration of robins"
How many results? ____________________
Adding an asterisk to a term will search for all variations of it. It usually means more results.
Try it! Clear your search query from above.
Type robin red.
How many results? _________________
Add * (robin red*) How many results? ___________________
With some search engines, if you use an uppercase letter in a term, it will search ONLY for websites which contain the uppercase version of the term and not the lowercase. This could mistakenly narrow your results.
Clear your search query from above.
Type robin.
How many results? _________________
Type Robin.
How many results? _________________
If the results are the same, then this search engine may not concern itself with upper or lowercase letters, but SOME DO. Therefore, make it a habit to use uppercase and lowercase appropriately.
Hopefully these tips will help you narrow your searches for information on the Internet. Good luck and happy searching!