Search Engines Meta Engines People Directories Subject Directories Domains explained URLs explained Hypertext Language Contents

Search Engines When will I use them? Use when looking for information about a specific topic. E.g. Bastille day

Search Engines What are they?How do they work? Search engines allow keyword searches on the World Wide Web. Information is gathered by programs called robots or spiders.

AllTheWeb Google Hotbot Useful Search Engines

Meta Engines How do they work? Meta engines are programs which query multiple web sources (search engines, web directories and/or other specialized databases). They do not have their own databases. They send queries simultaneously to their specified web sources (varies with each meta engine). Many of them integrate the search results and rank according to various criteria. What are they?

Meta Engines When will I use them? Use these engines when you want the highest recall of documents on a specific subject.

Beaucoup Ixquick Metasearch Profusion Useful Meta Engines

People Directories What are they?How are they organized? People directories are often referred to as ‘whitepages’ and include directories of and snail mail addresses and telephone numbers. The information is gathered by robots or by submissions by individuals.

People Directories When will I use them? Use when looking for and snail mail addresses and telephone numbers.

WhoWhere IAF (Internet Address Finder) Whitepages Useful People Directories

Subject Directories What are they?How are they organized? An index or catalog of Web sites. They are organized by humans.

Subject Directories When will I use them? Use when looking for general information about a topic. E.g. education, medicine Use when looking for a list of sites which have been selected by human experts.

LookSmart Lycos Yahoo Useful Subject Directories

Domains Explained What are they? A domain name is a meaningful and easy- to-remember “handle” for an Internet address. The domain name system (DNS) is the way that internet domain names are located and translated into computer addresses.

Domains Explained How do they help? The DNS includes: Name of country e.g. ca for Canada e.g. fr for France E.g. au for Australia Type of organization e.g. com for commercial e.g. edu for educational e.g. gov for government Name of organization e.g. brown for Brown University

URLs Explained URLs are World Wide Web addresses U = Uniform R = Resource L = Locator What are they?

URLs Explained An example The URL for Brown University is: Typically a WWW address includes: - hypertext transfer protocol www - World Wide Web brown - name of the organization edu - type of organization

Web Browsers What are they? The web browser is a software program installed on your PC that lets you look at (or “browse”) websites. Popular browsers include: –Internet Explorer, Netscape, and Mosaic.

Hypertext links What are they? The Web is based on a system called hypertext markup language (HTML). Hyperlinks are used to link information within documents and between documents on the World Wide Web.

Hypertext links Recognizing hyperlinks Hyperlinks appear as: Icons Images Text Text links are commonly a different color and are usually underlined.

Works Cited Henninger, M. Don’t Just Surf: Effective Research Strategies for the Net. Sydney: U of New South Wales Press Ltd, Tyner, R. “Internet Search Tools & Techniques.” 19 June 2001 M.L.S. Okanagan U College. 4 Oct Barlow, L. “How Search Engines Work.” The Spider’s Apprentice: A Helpful Guide to Search Engines. 22 Sept Monash Information Services. 4 Oct

Created & Designed by Syba Signs P/L C 2001 Syba Signs