1. Technology I Mrs. Huddleston
Searching the Web
Technology I
Mrs. Huddleston
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

2. A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines
Search Engine: Database of web page files that have been assembled automatically by a computer program called a bot/spider/robot.
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

3. Types of Search Engines
Individual:  compile their own searchable databases on the web.
Meta:   do not compile databases. Instead, they search the databases of multiple sets of individual engines simultaneously
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

4. Search Engine Advantages
Provide access to a fairly large portion of the publicly available pages on the Web, which itself is growing exponentially
The best means devised yet for searching the Web
Quick
Free
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

5. Search Engine Disadvantages
The sheer number of words indexed by search engines increases the likelihood that they will return hundreds of thousands of responses to simple search requests.
Many of these responses will be irrelevant to your search.
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

6. A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines
Subject Directories
Subject directories: database of web pages created and maintained by human editors who review and select sites for inclusion in their directories on the basis of previously determined selection criteria.
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

7. Subject Directories Advantage
Organized by subject.
Because of the human editing, they usually deliver a higher quality of content.
Provide fewer results out of context than search engines.
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

8. Subject Directories Disadvantages
Fewer hits than search engines.
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

9. A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines
Gateways
Library gateways: collections of databases and academically-oriented informational sites arranged by subject, that have been assembled, reviewed and recommended by specialists, usually librarians.
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

10. A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines
Vortals
Subject-specific databases (vortals): databases devoted to a single subject, created by professors, researchers, experts, governmental agencies, business interests, and other subject specialists
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

11. Creating a Search Statement
Be specific.
Use adjectives.
List terms in order of importance.
Use lower case.
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

12. A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines
Boolean Operators
Plus (+) includes words.
Reduces the number of hits.
Minus (-) excludes words.
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

13. A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines
Search Strategies
Quotation Marks (“ ”) makes sure phrase is found as is.
Add “site:edu” or “site:gov” to limit search to school or government sites.
Add “filetype:ppt” (or any other extension) to search for that particular type of file.
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

14. Web Extensions-Original
.edu: educational/school site
.com: commercial business site
.gov: U.S. governmental/non-military site
.mil: U.S. military sites and agencies
.net: networks, ISPs, organizations
.org: U.S. non-profit organizations
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

15. Web Extensions-Present
.edu is reserved for colleges and universities
Elementary, middle, and high schools cannot use .edu
.com/.net/.org are available for anyone
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

16. A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines
Country Codes
Most countries have codes to indicate what country the web page/site originated in.
.uk: United Kingdom
.ca: Canada
The US does not have a country code because we invented the system.
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

17. A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines
Invisible Web
Part of the web that search engines can’t access
Includes pages that are password protected or have specifically denied search engine access
Experts estimate that 40-60% of all web pages are on the invisible web.
Can get to the pages by knowing the URL
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines

18. A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines
Error Messages
Server Error
Something is wrong with the computer (web server) on which the web pages are stored
404-File Not Found
Something is wrong with the actual web page file (renamed, deleted, moved)
A Basic Tutorial for Searching the Web: Search Engines