SEARCHING THE INTERNET An Overview

What is a Search Engine electronically gathers Internet information into an index to be searched using keywords, narrowing terms, and Boolean logic when you use a search engine you are NOT searching the Internet but searching that engine’s own index different search engines use different indexing methods so they can give different results i.e. altavista.com, ask.com, google.ca

Who is Altavista? a leading provider of search services and technology continue to advance Internet search with new technologies and features designed to improve the search experience for consumers Awarded 61 search-related patents, more than any other Internet search company

Who is Altavista? (cont’d) Delivers Internet's first Web index (1995) First multilingual search capabilities on the Internet First Internet search engine to launch Image, Audio, and Video search capabilities Most advanced Internet search features and capabilities: multimedia search, translation & language recognition, and specialty search

What is a Metasearch Engine? finds results from multiple search engines some rank results i.e. Open your browser to view these Metasearch Engines

What is a Boolean Operator? Used to narrow a search To include or exclude words Boolean logic consists of three logical operators:  OR  AND  NOT

Examples of Boolean Operators Query: I need information about cats. Boolean logic: OR Search: cats OR felines Query: I'm interested in athletes in basketball. Boolean logic: AND Search: athletes AND basketball

More Examples Query: I'm interested in radiation, but not nuclear radiation. Boolean logic: NOT Search: radiation NOT nuclear Query: I want to learn about cat behaviour. Boolean logic: OR, AND Search: (cats OR felines) AND behaviour Open your browser and choose to search these examples

Online Research When you are using the web for research the preparation process and steps to completing your research paper are: a) know how to choose a topic b) know how to discover resources c) know how to gather information d) know how to prepare for writing e) know how to write the paper

Guidelines when using a search engine Only use Wikipedia to get the bearings on a subject not for content Use keywords to perform your search Keep the search narrow Check that your source is credible (check date creation, who the author is, if the site is biased/opinion or states facts)

Guidelines when using a search engine (cont’d) Read the About Page section (who posted, when, last update, who author) Should check your facts on more than one website Use factual information

Documenting your web source Topic – Steve Nash Statistics URL address Author - NBA Media Ventures, LLC Date posted – October 12, 2010 Date accessed the site – Wednesday, October 13, 2010 Title of the article –Players Steve Nash Publisher of the website - Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network

Works Cited Electronic resources should be cited as: Author, “Article Title.” Title of the website. Version #’s or revision #’s. Publisher Information (Date and Name). Page #’s if applicable. Date you accessed the material. URL if required or for your own information. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. “Players, Steve Nash.” NBA.com Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network. 13 Oct

Rewards of knowing how to conduct proper research gain valuable knowledge can save time important to learn how to search properly and effectively so you can weed out what you don’t need