Internet Search Techniques Finding What You’re Looking For

First, Ask a Question...

The Search Question Creating a good search question is half the battle Types of questions: – Specific: you want the answer to a specific question – Open-ended: you want to find out all you can on a specific subject

Types of Search Tools Search engines Directories Meta-search engines Other resources

Search Engines A Web page that finds other Web pages To use: – Enter a keyword or search expression and click a button – Review search results – If desired, refine the search

Boolean Operators A system of logical operators that allow you to specify relationships between search words To use: – Use AND to find all search terms – Use OR to find either search term – Use NOT to eliminate some portion of search results for the keyword

Directories A list of hyperlinks organized into categories To use: – Click on the category link to display links within the category – Continue to click more specific links until you locate the subject of your search

Meta-Search Engines Search tools that submit a search to more than one engine at a time. To use: – Enter a keyword or search expression – Specify which search engines to use – Review search results from each engine