Searching on the Internet

Where to look www.yahoo.co.uk www.ask.co.uk www.google.com Here a a few Search Engines which you might use to carry out your search. Go to these sites by typing their domain name in the web-address box at the top of your screen www.yahoo.co.uk www.ask.co.uk www.google.com www.aol.co.uk www.lycos.co.uk www.altavista.co.uk

About Search Engines Search Engines are computer programs which find and retrieve web-sites according to the words and phrases you give it. There are two basic types of Search Engine: ‘Library’ and ‘Open’ ‘Library’ Search Engines search through their own selection of sites to find something suitable for your search Open Search Engines search the entire net

LIBRARY SEARCH ENGINES As Library Search Engines are more selective about the web-sites they find, you might want to know…. Which is Which? OPEN SEARCH ENGINES LIBRARY SEARCH ENGINES www.lycos.co.uk www.google.com www.altavista.co.uk www.yahoo.co.uk www.ask.co.uk www.aol.co.uk

Narrowing your Search Check your spelling The results of your first search may not be what you expected, or relevant to your topic of research. Below are a few hints and tips which might help you find a more useful web-site…. Check your spelling Choose your search phrases carefully Be specific Place your search phrase inside speech marks Don’t use small words like ‘the’ and ‘a’ Add phrases to explain your search For more ideas and advice on how to search, look at the Search Engines’ help sections

Assessing the Search Results Not every web-site suggested by the Search Engine will be of use to you. Before you click on a link, you should make the following checks to make sure the site will be useful to you….. Look at the percentage score for the site -sites below 90% will probably be useless Read the titles of the web-sites brought up by the search - they may be nothing to do with what you are looking for Read the description of the web-site before you click on the link Find a site description which appears to be useful, and click on ‘view similar’ to get a list of sites with similar subject matter If none of the sites suggested seem to be of use, try refining your search further or using a different search phrase

Assessing the Web-site Once you have found a web-site to visit, make sure it is going to be as useful as you think. Try the following…… Skim read to check that the subject is useful Skim read to check that the level of text is suitable Scan for key words related to your topic Check that the author is reputable Check to see if it is recently written Check whether it has a good visiting rate if this information is available If there are lots of links and adverts, avoid it

REMEMBER!! The internet is like a huge, disorganised library. It will only be useful if you know what you are looking for and how to look for it.

HAPPY SURFING!!