Introduction | About
the Internet and the World Wide Web | Web
Versus Online Databases
Basics of Web Searching |
Search Strategies and Tools | Scope
of Web Search Tools | Additional Information
Introduction
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The advent of the World Wide Web and technological advances have dramatically
changed the ways that we do research. The Web is a powerful medium of information.
It offers endless possibilities and with that comes new challenges. Web sites
are often chaotic and disorganized, even though general directories and subject
directories try to categorize the content. It would be impossible to catalog
the Web like a library online catalog. The problem is not too little information
but too much.
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About the Internet and the World Wide Web
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The Internet (the Net) is a worldwide system of computer networks. It
is a network of networks that allows a user at any computer, if they have permission,
to share information from any other computer. The World Wide Web, also referred
to as WWW or the Web, is the most widely used part of the Internet. The Web
is all the resources and users on the Internet that are using the Hypertext
Transfer Protocol or http.
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Web Versus Online Databases
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How is the World Wide Web different from the bibliographic databases?
Sometimes you may need to use the Web for current news, online shopping,
career opportunities, chat rooms and discussion groups, etc. For your
research paper, NSU Libraries offer you wide array of databases, some
of which have selected full-text articles. Journal articles in the databases
have gone through quality control and hence considered more authoritative
resources. On the other hand, materials available on the Web are not necessarily
filtered. Following is a table that contains some major differences between
the the World Wide Web (WWW) and the commercial databases. Some examples
of commercial/bibliographic databases are ProQuest, Wilson Web, ERIC,
PsycINFO, MEDLINE, etc.
| WWW |
|
Databases
|
| Advantages |
Disadvantages |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
| currency, specialized, time-sensitive information |
content can be outdated, no standardization regarding date |
some databases updated weekly |
updated periodically; some lag time between publication of
the article and entry into the database |
| |
often inaccurate, misleading information, credibility can't
be assumed, therefore no quality control |
reliable, filtered information |
limited in scope |
| browsability as in subject directories, flexibility |
chaotic, unorganized, volatile, lack of indexing and controlled
vocabulary |
sophisticated indexing and field searching |
limited browsability |
| unique terms keywords |
Search features may not be very obvious. Some search engines
do not support all Boolean or proximity operators |
advanced search features, Boolean and proximity operators |
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Basics of Web Searching
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While there are many search tools available for locating information
on the web, most Web search tools have some basic search syntax in common
- +, - signs
- phrase searching
- wildcard or truncation searching
Note: Because each Web search tool is different from one another, you
should always consult the help screens of the search tool you are using
to see if these, and additional, features are available.
+, - Signs
Most Web search tools allow the plus (+) and minus (-)
signs to be used to modify a search. The Web search tool creates sets of information
based on the way you tell it to combine the words.
The plus (+) sign requires that a particular word appear in your
search results–without the + sign, some Web search tools will look
for any of the words that you type. By preceding a word with a plus (+)
sign, you are indicating to the search tool that the term must be in any
page retrieved. For example
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+computers
humans +benefits
+leadership
+vision management
+mainstreaming
workplace
+Internet +Java
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Terms with a + are required; terms without
a + are not required
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The minus (-) sign requires that a particular word not appear
in your search results–without the - sign, Web search results may
include the undesirable term. By preceding a word with a minus (-)
sign, you are indicating to the search tool that any page that contains
the term should be excluded from the search results. For example
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computers
-"palm
pilots"
vision -eyesight
science -physics
Java -coffee
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Terms with a - are excluded; terms without
a - are included
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Phrase Searching
In many Web search tools you may be able to look for your terms as a
phrase. To construct a phrase search
- put the phrase in double quotes
“higher education”
“curriculum development”
“case studies”
Wildcard or Truncation Searching
Many Web search tools allow you to use a symbol as part of your search
to truncate search terms, or replace word endings. The asterisk (*)
is often used by Web search tools at the end of a search term to retrieve
different forms of a word. To truncate a search term
- put the asterisk (*)at the end of the word
leader* retrieves leader, leaders, leadership
comput* retrieves computer, computers, computed, computing, computerization
Additional common Web search tool features may also be available depending
on the Web search tool you use.
Additional
Common Web Search Tool Features
Listed below are some common features available in many Web search tools.
Always consult the help screens of the search tool you are using to see
if these features are available, and if the same symbols are used.
|
Feature
|
Symbol
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Example
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Search Results Contain
|
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Requires term
|
+
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+leadership +vision
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Web sites where the term after the + is required. |
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Requires term
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AND
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leadership and vision
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Web sites with both terms.
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Excludes term
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-
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computers -"palm pilots"
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Web sites with computers, but not palm pilots.
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Excludes term
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NOT
AND NOT
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computers not "palm pilots"
computers and not "palm pilots"
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Web sites with computers, but not palm pilots.
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Either term present
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OR
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computers or technology
leadership or management
mainstreaming or inclusion
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Web sites with either term.
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Nested search terms
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( )
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("nova southeastern university" OR NSU)
AND practicum
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Web sites with Nova Southeeastern University OR NSU, and practicum.
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Phrase search
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" "
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“higher education”
“curriculum development”
“case studies”
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Web sites which contain the exact phrase. |
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Truncates search term
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*
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educ*
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Web sites with educate, educates, educated, educating, education,
educations, educator, educators, educational.
|
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Title field search
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title:
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title:technology
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Web sites with technology in the title tag–bar that appears
at the very top of the screen.
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URL (Web addess) field search
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url:
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url:microsoft
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Web sites with microsoft in the URL (Web address).
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Search Strategies and Tools
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The Web can be powerful and useful tool for research purposes. Web search
tools often return a large number of Web pages that contain your search terms.
However, Web search results often return an extremely large number of search
results that may not be relevant to your information needs. The right search
strategies combined with a well structured search will lead to fewer, but more
precise results.
There are many different Web search tools available. But there is no
one search tool that indexes the entire Internet–you will often need
to use multiple Web search tools. With a little thought, you may not even
need to use a Web search tool–creative guessing of Web addresses
can be a very useful means of locating information.
Guessing Web Addresses
Guessing Web addresses is a perfectly valid search strategy. First, consider
your information need–what are you trying to find? Then think about what
company or organization or government agency might provide the answer–who
can answer your "what"?
To guess a Web address:
- Many Web addresses begin with http:// This does not need to
be included in Internet Explorer or Netscape.
- The second part is often www.
- The third part is the name, abbreviation/acronym, or
shortened name of the company, organization or government agency.
- The final part is the domain, often .com.
The following are generic domains:
| .com |
primarily commercial, but unrestricted |
| .edu |
accredited post-secondary educational institutions only |
| .org |
primarily non-commercial organizations, but unrestricted |
| .gov |
U.S. government only |
| .mil |
U.S. military only |
| .net |
Internet service providers and networks |
|
.aero
|
air-transport industry only |
| .biz |
businesses only |
| .coop |
cooperative organizations only |
| .info |
open |
| .int |
international organizations established by treaties only |
| .museum |
museums only |
| .name |
individuals only |
|
There are additional two-character domain names for various countries of
the world. For example: .us for United States, .uk for United Kingdom, etc.
For a table of country-based domain names, see: Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
For example, what if you were trying to locate information about the
travel time to work for specific counties in the U.S.? One possible source for
this information is the U.S. Census which is produced by the U.S. Census Bureau.
To guess the web address of the U.S. Census Bureau
|
|
http:// |
- add the next part of the address:
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http://www. |
- add the name, acronym or shortened name, which is probably census:
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http://www.census. |
- finally, add the domain, which is probably .gov:
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http://www.census.gov |
If you are unable to guess the Web address or who might produce the information
you need, then you will need to try a different Web search strategy.
Web Search Tools
A variety of tools are available to search for information on the Web.
Familiarize yourself with several different directories, search engines, metasearch
engines, and specialized tools - no one search tool indexes the entire Internet.
No matter how large the search tools you are using, the Web is even bigger.
Plus new Web search tools are constantly becoming available - reliance on a
single or outdated Web search tool may not provide the information you need.
Tools for searching the Web include
- directories
- search engines
- meta search engines
- specialized tools
Directories
Directories (virtual libraries or portals) are links that are
organized in subject specific categories and sub-categories.
They are good for general starting points as you can browse through hierarchical
lists created and reviewed by people. Directories are useful for locating
- Web sites of companies, government agencies and organizations
- general topics
- products and services
- news
Examples of directories include
Yahoo! is a commonly used subject directory that can be searched
using keywords or browsed using the subjects and subcategories.
Search Features of Select Directories
| Subject Directories |
Boolean |
Proximity |
Truncation |
Case |
Fields |
Limits |
Sorting |
Yahoo
|
+, - |
Phrase |
Automatic, except in phrase |
No |
t:title
u:url |
Language,
country,
domain,
date,
more |
Categories, sites, then Google |
Open Directory
|
and, or, andnot,
+, - |
Phrase |
Yes, * |
No |
t:title
u:url
d:desc
|
Categories,
sites,
age groups |
Categories then sites |
| LookSmart |
Default AND |
Phrase |
Automatic stemming |
No |
None |
No |
Random sites, then AltaVista |
Search Enginges
Search Engines are automated tools for searching the Web pages by keywords.
They are good for specific searches.
Search Engines attempt to find and index as many sites as possible. Search
features, database, size, scope, and currency, vary greatly from search
engine to search engine. Search engines are particularly useful for
- unique keywords
- field searches
- limit features–date, language, file type, etc
Examples of search engines include
Google is a commonly used search that can be searched using keywords–simple
or basic search modess.
Keywords and field searching can be used in the Google search engine –advanced
search mode.
Search Features of Select Search Engines
| Search Engines |
Boolean |
Proximity |
Truncation |
Case |
Fields |
Limits |
Sorting |
| Google |
+, -, OR |
Phrase |
No |
No |
intitle,
inurl,
site,
link,
more |
Language,
file type,
date,
more |
Relevance,
site |
| AlltheWeb |
+, -, or
with () |
Phrase |
No |
No |
title,
URL,
link,
more |
Language,
domain,
PDF,
more |
Relevance,
site |
| Lycos |
+, - |
Phrase |
No |
No |
title,
URL,
link,
more |
Language,
domain |
Relevance |
| AltaVista Simple |
+, -, AND,
OR, AND
NOT, ( ) |
Phrase,
near |
Yes, *
|
No |
title,
URL,
link,
more |
Language |
Relevance,
site |
| AltaVista Advanced |
and, or,
and not,
( ) |
Phrase,
near,
within |
Yes, * |
Yes |
title,
URL,
link,
more |
Language,
date |
Relevance,
if used |
| HotBot |
and, or,
not, ( ),
+, - |
Phrase |
No |
Yes |
title,
more |
Language,
date, more |
Relevance,
site |
| Teoma |
-, OR |
Phrase |
No |
No |
intitle,
inurl |
Language,
site |
Relevance, metasites |
| WiseNut |
- only |
Phrase |
No |
No |
No |
Language |
Relevance,
site |
| Gigablast |
+, - |
Phrase |
No |
No |
title,
site,
ip,
more |
No |
Relevance,
date |
Meta Search Engines
Meta search engines search several search engines simultaneously.
There are some limitations when using meta search engines. Usually advanced
search features of individual search engines are not possible–at
most, some meta search engines use +, - to limit searches. Different meta
search engines search different sets of search engines.
Examples of meta search engines include
Dogpile is a meta search engine that can be used to simultaneously search
for keywords in multiple search engines.
Specialized Tools
Specialized tools ( topical search engines or "vertical" search
engines or "vortals") provide a searchable database of subject specific
Web content.
They help search through specific types of listings in different areas.
Examples of specialized tools include
FindLaw is an example of a specialized search tool–it is a subject directory
of legal materials and resources. Like other subject directories, FindLaw can
be searched using keywords or browsed using the subjects and subcategories.
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Scope of Web Search Tools
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Web search tools index millions of Web pages, yet no Web search tool
even comes close to indexing the entire Internet. Web search results do not
include
- content of non-html files, such as PDF, Word and other formatted
files (AlltheWeb and Google now index PDF and selected other file types)
- content of Web sites that use a log in
- form data
- Intranets (networks inside organizations)
- aggragated databaes and commercial resources with domain limitations
(such as the databases in the Electronic Resources section)
- non Web resources on the Internet
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Additional Information
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For additional information about Web searching tools consult
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