Digital Literacy Internet Searching

Researcher/Search Engine Game In pairs or small groups, play the search engine game. One person is the search engine and is blindfolded. The other(s) decide on an object in the room (without letting the search engine person know what it is). Researchers give the search engine one search combination at a time to the “search engine” who tries to guess what it is. No fair using the name of the actual object! Limit search combinations to 4 words or less. Record your search terms each time you try.

Directories vs. Search Engines Directories are hierarchical folders of websites organized for "drilling down" into a subject. An example of a directory is DMOZ. Search engines identify and return likely matches to your keyword entries. Examples of search engines are Google, Bing, and HotBot.

How Search Works

How Search Works What matters in a search query? Every word matters who vs. the who vs. a who

How Search Works What matters in a search query? Every word matters ~EXCEPT STOP WORDS ~ Some search engines don't record extremely common words that are part of phrases in order to save space or to speed up searches. Examples: I when about an as at be by com for from how www in it of on or that the this to was what where will with is the are a who

How Search Works What matters in a search query? Order matters blue sky vs. sky blue

How Search Works What matters in a search query? Capitalization does not matter barack obama vs. Barack Obama

How Search Works What matters in a search query? Punctuation does not matter red: delicious! Apple? vs. red delicious apple

How Search Works Tips for better searching: Keep it simple. Use as few terms as possible. Think of your ideal results. What words would be included? Use descriptive words. Avoid general or common words. If you want to buy a car, don’t enter the keyword “car” if you can enter the keyword “Toyota”. Better still, enter the phrase “Toyota Dealerships” AND the name of the city where you live. [ weather report for cancun mexico ] [ weather cancun ]

How Search Works What are the key words in the following search? What is the current population of the state of Florida? If you want to buy a car, don’t enter the keyword “car” if you can enter the keyword “Toyota”. Better still, enter the phrase “Toyota Dealerships” AND the name of the city where you live. [ weather report for cancun mexico ] [ weather cancun ]

How Search Works What are the key words in the following search? What is the type of money used in Japan? If you want to buy a car, don’t enter the keyword “car” if you can enter the keyword “Toyota”. Better still, enter the phrase “Toyota Dealerships” AND the name of the city where you live. [ weather report for cancun mexico ] [ weather cancun ]

How Search Works What are the key words in the following search? What colors are on the flag of Ireland? If you want to buy a car, don’t enter the keyword “car” if you can enter the keyword “Toyota”. Better still, enter the phrase “Toyota Dealerships” AND the name of the city where you live. [ weather report for cancun mexico ] [ weather cancun ]

How Search Works What are the key words in the following search? What is the latitude and longitude of Mexico City? If you want to buy a car, don’t enter the keyword “car” if you can enter the keyword “Toyota”. Better still, enter the phrase “Toyota Dealerships” AND the name of the city where you live. [ weather report for cancun mexico ] [ weather cancun ]

How Search Works A review

How Search Works Keyword Search Activity

Search Engine Search

Search Tools

Advanced Search Options Use double quotes “ “ to look for words in exactly the order you give. Examples: “great depression” “school dress code”

Advanced Search Options “Stem” the URL to see the original domain hosting the information. For example: http://www.itemlive.com/news/rt-1-mini-golf-to-close-sept-25/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark http://www.itemlive.com

Advanced Search Options Limit the search by domain extension. Examples: site: edu site: org site: gov

Advanced Search Options Limit the search by file type. Examples: filetype:pdf filetype:ppt filetype:doc

Advanced Search Options The * can be used as a wildcard placeholder in a search. Example: A * saved is a * earned

Advanced Search Options Use the ~ to search for a word and its synonyms. Example: ~ mobile phone Will return results with the word “phone” as well as “cell”, “cellular”, “wireless”, etc.

Advanced Search Options Use the info: search operator to get information about a web address. Example: info:Google.com

Advanced Search Options Many search engines have an advanced search tab with additional options.

Advanced Search Options What about the Invisible Web? http://www.techsprung.com/index.php/author/palesa/

Advanced Search Options What about the Invisible Web? Sideways hourglass diagram…what has no links to it and what links to nowhere? According to Google… https://docs.google.com/document/d/10nYxhi3YfaVYJDHsXWHouxRmRAlN6UKpCNslJ0DU55k/edit

Advanced Search Options What about the Invisible Web? South Seneca Databases: FirstSearch EBSCO TeachingBooks.net

Advanced Search Options What about the Invisible Web?

Search Challenges 1. What is the flavor of the day at Kopps custard?

Search Challenges 2. What is the population of the United States?

Search Challenges 3. Find a recipe for peanut butter cookies.

Search Challenges 4. ​What film won the academy award for best picture in 1984?

Search Challenges 5. My film based on a popular 20th century comic book came out in 2011, but I got famous directing movies like E.T., Jurassic Park, and Indiana Jones. On what day of the week was I born? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…? Et Jurassic park Indiana jones; steven speilberg birthday; calendar 1946; wednesday

Search Challenges 6. In 2010, 12,500 bottles sailed more than 8,000 nautical miles in the Pacific Ocean. What color was the sail flying over the bottles when they arrived at their destination? 12,500 bottles pacific ocean; plastiki; plastiki Sydney; black and pink

Evaluating Websites How do you know something is true? Comment on these two statements: "It must be right… I found it on the Internet" "It can't be right… I found it on the Internet"

Evaluating Websites Authority Who is the author? Is there contact information? What else has the author written?

Evaluating Websites Purpose Why was this source created? Who is the intended audience?

Evaluating Websites Publication & format Where was it created? Is there a bias? What type of publication is it? Are there spelling or grammatical errors?

Evaluating Websites Relevance How is it relevant to your research? What is the scope of its coverage?

Evaluating Websites Date of publication When was it first published? When was it last updated?

Evaluating Websites Documentation Are sources cited or linked to? Who does the site link to and who links to it?

Evaluating Websites R Read the URL for clues to its publisher An acronym to consider: R Read the URL for clues to its publisher E Examine the site’s content closely A Ask about the site’s author/publisher L Look at the clues