Searching the World Wide Web
Basic points to remember:
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Everything is NOT on the web (and may never be).
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No search engine covers the entire web. The biggest engine,
currently Google, searches only about 20-30% of the web.*
Search strategies:
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Write down in a sentence or two what you are trying to find.
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Search using more than one engine to get more complete coverage.
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Where appropriate, use correct syntax. [+Philadelphia
+eagles, +cats -musical]
Major search sites:
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Yahoo! – Most popular,
good for beginners
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Google- One of the largest
databases of searchable web sites
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Dogpile, ixQuick
– Meta sites that search multiple search engines
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Lycos
Invisible Web - searches databases not accessible to general search
engines
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Others – AltaVista, Excite, HotBot, Northern Light, Infoseek
Evaluating Web sites (and some questions to ask):
Quality varies greatly from site to site. Almost anyone
can put up a web site. As the researcher, YOU are the sole evaluator of
the quality of information a site provides.
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Is the information accurate? Reliable?
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Who is the author? Publisher?
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Is the information biased or objective?
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Is the information current? Is there an "updated" date?
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How detailed is the coverage? Are there links to other relevant
sites?
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Is this what you are looking for?
How
to Read a Web Site Address
Web
Site Evaluation Exercise
* The Search Engine Report, April 6, 2001
LB Ingersoll, MCCC Libraries
September 2001