USEFUL TIPS TO GUIDE YOUR SEARCH With the vast amount of information on the Internet, it is important to know how to conduct a search
that produces useful information in a timely fashion. Here are some helpful hints to guide web users'
search needs by effectively using a search engine's features.
TIP #1 - Narrow your search by typing exactly what you want. If your search topic is too
broad, you will have to sift through a bunch of pages that are not quite what you
want.
Pretend you want to find some information about Painted Lady butterflies. Type
in the following entries in a search engine (for suggestions visit, my link of
recommendations): butterflies Painted Lady butterflies. Which entry
produced the better results? Why do you think so?
TIP #2 - Use quotation marks around words that appear together. This is especially useful
in a proper name like Painted Lady butterflies because it is the name of a particular
species of butterfly. Without the quotation marks, results will include everything that
has the word "painted" as well as everything that has the word "lady" in it. These
hits will have nothing to do with Painted Lady butterflies. Some search engines
also allow you to enter what you want in the EXACT PHRASE box and not the
WITH ALL box in an advanced search.
Try entering Painted Lady butterflies and "Painted Lady butterflies" as search topics.
Which produced the better result and why?
TIP #3 - Use a "+" to INCLUDE words and a "- " to EXCLUDE words. This is useful to
narrow a search where some of the words may produce unwanted results. For
example, suppose you wanted to find out information about Johnny Appleseed,
but you wanted true facts about his life as opposed to the tall tales about him.
Many search engines assume that the "+" is there by just typing the word
and automatically include it in the search.
Go to your favorite search engine. Enter "Johnny Appleseed" as a search and then
enter +Johnny +Appleseed +biography -"tall tale". What was the difference in your
results? Which produced the better search results and why?
TIP #4 - Use all lowercase letters in your searches. If you type an uppercase first letter,
many search engines will only produce results of that word with the first letter
in uppercase form. By using lowercase letters, the search results will produce
relevant results that may have otherwise been missed.
Do a search of "life cycle of the butterfly" and then search with "Life Cycle of
the Butterfly". Was there any difference in the results produced by each search?
Which was the better search in your opinion and why?
TIP #5 - Avoid searching for the plural form of a word. When you enter the plural, your
search becomes more narrow than it needs to be and eliminates results that
could be useful for your needs. By entering the singular form of a word followed
by an " * ", you are able to to catch other variations of a word as well as different
forms of a verb.
Try the following searches in your favorite search engine: butterfly* butterflies
Which search produced the better results? Explain why you think so.
TIP #6 - Including a "title" tag in your search can improve the focus of your search. A
simple search locates words anywhere on a web page. If you want to find
a page that is about one topic, look for pages that have those topic words
specifically in the title.
Use the following terms to conduct two different searches: "life cycle of the butterfly"
and title: life cycle of the butterfly. Explain the differences in the results of these
two searches.
that produces useful information in a timely fashion. Here are some helpful hints to guide web users'
search needs by effectively using a search engine's features.
TIP #1 - Narrow your search by typing exactly what you want. If your search topic is too broad, you will have to sift through a bunch of pages that are not quite what you
want.
Pretend you want to find some information about Painted Lady butterflies. Type
in the following entries in a search engine (for suggestions visit, my link of
recommendations): butterflies Painted Lady butterflies. Which entry
produced the better results? Why do you think so?
TIP #2 - Use quotation marks around words that appear together. This is especially useful in a proper name like Painted Lady butterflies because it is the name of a particular
species of butterfly. Without the quotation marks, results will include everything that
has the word "painted" as well as everything that has the word "lady" in it. These
hits will have nothing to do with Painted Lady butterflies. Some search engines
also allow you to enter what you want in the EXACT PHRASE box and not the
WITH ALL box in an advanced search.
Try entering Painted Lady butterflies and "Painted Lady butterflies" as search topics.
Which produced the better result and why?
TIP #3 - Use a "+" to INCLUDE words and a "- " to EXCLUDE words. This is useful to narrow a search where some of the words may produce unwanted results. For
example, suppose you wanted to find out information about Johnny Appleseed,
but you wanted true facts about his life as opposed to the tall tales about him.
Many search engines assume that the "+" is there by just typing the word
and automatically include it in the search.
Go to your favorite search engine. Enter "Johnny Appleseed" as a search and then
enter +Johnny +Appleseed +biography -"tall tale". What was the difference in your
results? Which produced the better search results and why?
TIP #4 - Use all lowercase letters in your searches. If you type an uppercase first letter,many search engines will only produce results of that word with the first letter
in uppercase form. By using lowercase letters, the search results will produce
relevant results that may have otherwise been missed.
Do a search of "life cycle of the butterfly" and then search with "Life Cycle of
the Butterfly". Was there any difference in the results produced by each search?
Which was the better search in your opinion and why?
TIP #5 - Avoid searching for the plural form of a word. When you enter the plural, yoursearch becomes more narrow than it needs to be and eliminates results that
could be useful for your needs. By entering the singular form of a word followed
by an " * ", you are able to to catch other variations of a word as well as different
forms of a verb.
Try the following searches in your favorite search engine: butterfly* butterflies
Which search produced the better results? Explain why you think so.
TIP #6 - Including a "title" tag in your search can improve the focus of your search. A simple search locates words anywhere on a web page. If you want to find
a page that is about one topic, look for pages that have those topic words
specifically in the title.
Use the following terms to conduct two different searches: "life cycle of the butterfly"
and title: life cycle of the butterfly. Explain the differences in the results of these
two searches.