Search Tips for the Internet:

When one first starts to investigate the daunting wide-open sea that is the Internet, it is easy to feel lost with no idea of where to start and how to find the information needed and wanted. The simple guide provided below may help to alleviate some of your confusion and make your search easier and more productive. Try some of these tips and see if they can help you!

Tip #1: MAKE SURE YOU USE A RELIABLE SEARCH ENGINE

A big part of any Internet search starts with what Search Engine you use. Some engines may be more reliable than others. So, before you begin your search, you might first want to locate the search box on your Internet service provider page and type in “search engines.” By doing this, you can see which engines appear the most often and which ones may be considered the most popular. Besides doing this, it might be useful to start by using one of the established “meta-search” sites such as Google, Dogpile, Ask Jeeves, or Yahoo. These sites provide many features that may make your search easier.

Tip #2: BE CAREFUL HOW YOU ENTER YOUR KEYWORDS

When you begin an Internet search, it is a good idea to make sure that what you type into the search box will provide you with the “hits” that give you the information you’re looking for. For example, if you want to find information on stomach cancer, simply typing in the word, “cancer,” will yield hundreds of thousands of results that would take hours to look through. However, if you would type in “stomach cancer” instead, the amount of results you receive would be more useful and specific to your original inquiry.

Tip #3: HOW WELL DO YOU EVALUATE THE SITES YOU LOCATE

Now, you have just found a list of ten websites that pertain to your search of “stomach cancer.” The next question you need to ask is, which of these sites provide the information that I need? You can determine if the site is useful by answering the following questions:

1. Is the site sponsored by a reputable organization and/or author that can be contacted?

2. Does the information you find correspond to findings in published books and/or manuals?

3. Is the site well structured and easy to navigate?

4. Are the sources of information on this site well documented?

By examining any site you find in regards to these few questions, you stand a greater chance of finding a website with reliable information that you can use.

TIP #4: PUT QUOTATIONS AROUND 2 OR MORE WORDS WHEN YOU WANT TO SEARCH FOR THE WORDS AS A PHRASE

When you want to find information about a subject that includes two or more words, it is a good idea to put quotations around them to make sure you receive the list of “hits” that you want. For example, if you type “Italian Renaissance” into the search box, chances are that you will receive a large list of results that include both these words, but might have nothing to do with the Italian Renaissance as it occurred as an event. A better way to search for this topic is to type “”Italian Renaissance”” with quotations around them. By doing this, the search engine will look for only those sites that discuss the singular event of the Italian Renaissance. This technique can make your search immeasurably easier.

TIP #5: USE OF BOOLEAN OPERATORS

Well, first of all, you might ask, what are Boolean Operators? Well, they are words such as “and,” “or,” and “not.” Through the use of these words, one can make finding what you need easier.

I will provide some examples:

-Using “and.”

Simply typing the words “France HIV” may give you a large amount of results that include only these two words, but don’t give you websites dealing with HIV in France. By simply restating the search as “HIV and France,” you are much more likely to find results that tell you about HIV and its presence in France.

-Using “or.”

Say, for example, that you want to search for articles concerning wine in France and America. You don’t really care if the articles are about French or American wine, they are just the only countries that you know produce wine. So, how would you go about your search? One way is by typing “French or American wine.” By doing this, it is highly likely that you will find articles concerning wine from both countries.

-Using “not.”

So, you want to find information about independence movements around the world, but, when you type in “independence” in the search box, all you get is results dealing with American Independence from Great Britain. Well, by typing in “independence not American,” you’re very likely to find a good amount of sites dealing with independence that is anything but American.

-Using combinations.

These Boolean Operators can be used in conjunction as well. For example, you want to research sites about German and Italian history, but not Austrian history. To find what you need, you might try typing in “German and Italian not Austrian history” to make your search easier.