Using Directories and Web Search Engines
You will read information about and practice using directories, search engines, and meta search engines to conduct research on the Internet to find resources for your lessons.
Understanding Directories and Search Engines
A. Using Directories
If you seek general information on a broad topic or want to explore different areas of a broad topic, use a Web directory. Directories are arranged by subject and usually include return links to the top level of the directory’s Web site rather than to pages within the Web site. Users of directories often begin searches by selecting a broad category and then narrowing their focus step by step. For example, a user searching for general information on the Civil War might first begin with the category Social Sciences, then narrowing the choices by clicking through the subcategories of History, US History, By Time Period, 19th Century, Military History, then Civil War or simply typing in the search term of Civil War. If one directory does not give you satisfactory results, try another one. Results often vary widely from one directory to another because sites included in each category are hand-selected by people rather than by machines.
Examples of directories are:
The Internet Public Library
http://www.ipl.org
The Open Directory
http://dmoz.org/
WebBrain
http://www.webbrain.com
Yahoo!
http://www.yahoo.com
Yahooligans!
http://www.yahooligans.com
B. Using Search Engines
If you want very specific information on a search topic and you know the appropriate titles, phrases, or technical language, use a search engine, meta search engines, or specialty search engine. Search engines computers continually visit Web sites on the Internet in order to create catalog of Web pages. In most cases, search engines are best used to locate a specific piece of information such as a known document, image, or phrase, rather than a general subject.
For information on specific search engines and how to use them, visit:
Search Engine Watch
http://www.searchenginewatch.com
Examples of Search Engines:
All the Web
http://www.alltheweb.com
AltaVista
http://www.altavista.com
Excite
http://www.excite.com
Google
http://www.google.com
C. Using Meta Search Engines
If you want to search multiple databases simultaneously for difficult to find information, use a meta search engine. It retrieves results from various databases and gives consolidated report of its findings.
Examples of meta search engines:
Ask
http://www.ask.com
Dogpile
http://www.dogpile.com
Metacrawler
http://www.metacrawler.com
Vivisimo Clustering Engine
http://vivisimo.com/
D. Using Kid-Friendly Search Engines and Directories
Searches using these search engines and directories will result in student-appropriate sites. All sites are hand-picked for suitability for children.
Ask for Kids
http://www.askforkids.com/
An editor selects each web site included in Ask Jeeves for Kids. Only “G-rated” pages and those written specifically for children are included. Most appropriate for children up to age 13.
Awesome Library
http://www.awesomelibrary.org/
Awesome Library organizes the Web with 19 000 carefully reviewed resources. Includes a search engine as well as directory arranged by school subjects. Appropriate for all ages.
Kids Click!
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/kidsclick!
Created by a group of librarians. Appropriate for children to approximately 13.
Kid’s Search Tools
http://www.rcls.org/ksearch.htm
A great one-page starting point for student research.
LycosZone
http://www.lycoszone.com/
A variety of resources for kids, as well as a search engine.
Super-Kids
http://www.super-kids.com/
Super-Kids reviews each site before including it in their database. Appropriate for elementary grade students.
Yahooligans
http://www.yahooligans.com/
Sites selected by the yahoo! Inc. staff. Appropriate for ages 7 to 12.
E. Using Specialty Search Engines
If you are looking for specialized information, you may want to use a specialty search engine.
GovSpot
http://www.govspot.com/
Govspot.com is a non-partisan government information portal designed to simplify the search for the best and most relevant government information online.
Language Tools
http://www.itools.com/lang/
Includes dictionaries, thesauri, and language translators. Language translator includes individual word translations for 199 different languages, as well as a Web page translator. Translate a Web page on-the-fly (seven languages supported).
MedHunt
http://www.hon.ch/MedHunt/
Index of medical information. Searches can be narrowed by region.
Moreover
http://w.moreover.com
A search engine that gathers information from major, regional, and international news sources. Comprehensive coverage on any topic, delivered within 15 minutes of publication or posting on the original site.
Research It!
http://www.itools.com/
Specialty search tools to find people, quotations, maps, facts, currency converters, stock quotes, zip codes, etc.
Refining Internet Search
When conducting an Internet Search, it is useful to start with a broad concept and to narrow as you begin to find information. Computerized search mechanisms are based on Boolean Logic, named after George Boole, a 19th-Century English mathematician who devised a new system for analyzing variables. It is helpful to know Boolean logic when doing Internet research. Remember, each search engine is different. You may want to check the search engine’s help page before beginning your search.
Using Boolean Logic
When conducting a search, you may end up with too many choices or the wrong results. Some search engines allow you to narrow your search by using the Boolean logic. Boolean logic consists of three logical operators: AND, OR, and NOT.
AND requires all terms to appear in a record
OR retrieves records with either term
NOT excludes terms
Sample searches using Boolean logic:
Bat NOT baseball
Mammal AND bat NOT baseball
Using Simplified Boolean Logic
Some search engines allow you to designate the most important words within your search by inserting a + (plus sign) immediately before the most important words. Conversely, inserting a – (minus sign) immediately before a word excludes it.
+mammal +bat – baseball
Searching by Phrase
If you are looking for an exact phrase or string of words, enclose the phrase within quotation marks.
Examples of a search using quotation marks:
“four score and seven years ago”
“genetic diversity”
+”gold rush”+California
Using Truncation
If you want to expand your search to include a specified word root with different word endings, enter the first part of a key word (word root), and insert a symbol, usually * (asterisk)
Example of a search using truncation:
dictat* (retrieves dictator, dictated, and dictation)
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