CPT 499 Internet Skills for Educators Session Three Class Notes
Objectives Use the Search Button on the browser to access a search engine List several search engines Use multiple search engines in a query
Objectives Distinguish between Boolean operators: And, Or, Not Explain the process of searching the Web Describe the structure of the URL
Objectives Use the Find Command under the edit menu Use the Save Command under the edit menu Download an image or document from the Web
Search Engines Search Engines provide a more productive means of surfing the Web A search engine is a program that handle queries and provide a search form for the user to enter search criteria and locate Web resources. The search engine scans its database to see which documents are related to the key word(s) requested.
Search Engines The results page will show you how many hits (documents) it found on the database. The results page will list titles of the documents it finds, and a hyperlink to each document. Each engine uses a special program known as a spider to automatically search the Web on a periodic basis, looking for new documents to add to its database.
Search Engines The larger the database the greater the number of hits. The search engine you choose to use is up to your own personal preference.
Search Engines SOME COMMON WEB SERARCH ENGINES Site URL Yahoo Lycos WebCrawler AltaVista InfoSeek Metacrawler Open Text
Search Engines All queries are combinations of the logical (Boolean) operators. The Boolean operators are AND, OR, and NOT The way in which Boolean operators are specified depends on the search engine.
Search Engines If you are unsure check the online help provided with the search engine. Queries can be conducted in the form of a key word search.
Search Engines A program which systematically searches Web for documents on a specific topic Uses a key word(s) as a query
Search Engines Several search engines available Each search engine has its own database No search engine is best
Search Engines Uses Boolean (logical) operators Returns hits (matches) or documents once search has been submitted
Search Button Usually offers several prominent search engines for user’s choice More engines are usually available on the page either by scrolling on the page on through links to other engines
Search Button Can construct key word(s) search Can use category structure established by search engine
Search Button Browser logo and status bar keeps user informed of the progress of a search
Popular Search Engines
Search Rules Specify Boolean operators And -- includes all findings of all keyword(s) Or ---- looks for only one of the specified key word(s) Not -- allows user to exclude certain key word(s)
Search Techniques Use multiple search engines Use online help about search criteria used for the engine selected
Bookmark Command Bookmarks allow the user to return to a site without repeating a search Pull down Bookmark and click Add Bookmark to save URL
Find Command Find allows user to enter a specific character string within a long document Enables user to find information quicker
Save Command Save allows user to save and download (FTP) images and documents from the Web
Organization Names