The following tips for search engine use can be used by knowledge-seekers ages (9-99).  For this list of tips, I have chosen to use baseball terms.  These terms help to show the purpose of each search tip.  Beneath each tip is a "Strike", which displays a mediocre search technique and a "Hit" which suggests a better way to search.  Hopefully, if you are a baseball fan, these tips will be easy to understand AND remember! 

1.  KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL!! -  FOCUS and BE SPECIFIC - The more specific you are within your search, the better your results will be.  Instead of searching for "ball",  you can immediately narrow your search by typing "Baseball", "Softball", "Football", etc.  Then, make it even more specific:  "Major League Baseball playoffs". 

       Lets, apply this tip to social studies:
       STRIKE:  Congress - This will give you THOUSANDS of results!! 
       HIT:   Second Continental Congress - This will narrow your search and save you time!

2.  "PLAY BALL!!" - Quote Exact Phrases - If you do not use quotes, the search engine will give you all results that include any of the words that you enter.

       STRIKE:   A Day Which Will Live In Infamy      - The search engine will find anything with one or more of the words "Day", "Which", "Will", "Live", "In", "Infamy"
       HIT:   "A Day Which Will Live In Infamy"    - The search engine will only look for results with the phrase "A Day Which Will Life In Infamy"

3.  USE YOUR TEAMMATES! - Use multiple search engines...there are some search engines that are designed for specific purposes (shopping, education, media, kids, news and more!.)  See my list of favorite search engines for help. http://www2.mcdaniel.edu/slm/student/sayrej/engines.htm 

      STRIKE:   You use only Google and Yahoo since they are your favorite and are popular - You are missing out on possible search results!!!
       HIT:   You use a variety of search engines - You will find USEFUL results quickly!

4.  QUALIFY who makes it to the next round! - Just as baseball coaches may need to add or cut members of the team, you can enhance the qualitify of your search with Boolean terms, like conjunctions (and, or, not).  Make use of the conjunctions "AND", "OR", and "NOT" to refine your search without using the advanced search feature.  Use "AND" if you are looking for multiple words, "OR" to find results for a synonym for your initial word, or "NOT" to exclude any unwanted words.

       STRIKE:  Going against slavery
       HIT:  "Slavery" AND "Abolitionists"
                  "Abolitionists" OR "Anti-slavery"
                  "Abolitionists" NOT "Civil War"

4.  ADVANCE to the next level! Make use of Advanced Search function on search engines to continue to refine your search.  Some advanced search engines allow you to search by date, language, media type and MORE!!  Advanced Search functions can usually be found as a link on the search engine's primary site. 
       STRIKE:  Use only basic search engines - Your results will be either too vast or too limited
       HIT:   Use advanced search engines - Find exactly what you want!