SEARCH TIPS

Finding what you need on the net!

Surfing the net can be frustrating at any age. Below I have constructed a list of “tips” to follow to help alleviate some of the frustration. These tips will help you navigate the Internet with much more speed and accuracy.

Search tip # 1 – Be Specific

Spelling is a very important part of searching the Internet. Try to be as accurate as possible when spelling a word. If you are unsure of a spelling refer to a dictionary before searching. If you are still unsure on spelling, see www.excite.com. This site features a “Are you looking for . . .? “ statement if the search engine is confused on what you are looking for.

Search tip # 2 – Using quotation marks

The use of quotation marks will help reduce the number of links found on a search engine. Quotation marks are put around search terms to find exact matches. For example:

Celebrate = celebration, celebrating, and celebrated

“Celebrate” = matches only celebrate

Search tip # 3 – Using and, or, not

Adding or to your search will broaden the search possibilities. Adding and to your search will help narrow your search possibilities. And adding, not to your search will remove links with the words you are not looking for. See examples:

Celebrate or party – matches either search term

Celebrate and party – matches must include both terms

Celebrate not party – matches first term only

Search tip # 4 – Using + and –

Using + in a search notifies the engine that both words must be included on the page. Adding – to a search notifies the engine that the only the first word is required on the page. See examples:

Celebrate + party – party must be included on the page with celebrate

Celebrate – party – party is not required on the page with celebrate

Search tip # 5 – Use appropriate capitalization

When using the Internet, proper nouns need to be capitalized. Remember that when using lower case letters in a search engine the engine will link to matches using any case letter.

search – search Search – Search

Search tip # 6 – Advance searches

Most search engines feature an advance search on their home page. Advance searches allow you to be more specific with your searches by adding the ability to enter phrases instead of just words for a search. Click on the attached search engines and practice using an advanced search.

www.google.com http://www.altavista.com/

www.dogpile.com http://www.lycos.com/

http://www.yahoo.com/ http://www.hotbot.com/ http://www.metacrawler.com/info.metac/dog/index.htm

Search tips activity

Objective: The student will be able to minimize the number of web links through the use of search tips.

Choose two of the above search engines to complete activity.
Using the tips above complete the required search and attached chart.

Search topic: Chinese meal patterns

Words used	Tip #	Search engines used	# of links found