Searching+Strategies

Searching the Internet can be fun if you know how. Here are some simple strategies that can help.
Directions: Read the following tricks, tips, and strategies to use when you search for information on the Internet. Be sure to follow the links to each example given. When you are done, you will take an online quiz, print out your quiz results, and turn them in at the next class.

Keywords and Spelling
A Keyword search is a search for all sources that contain your search words. __The keyword must be spelled correctly__. You and your teammates should have your keywords listed on your team page.

//Hint:// One way to check the spelling fo your keywords is to go to the "edit this page" function on your team page and look for anything underlined in RED. Those are misspelled words.

Boolean Search
Boolean search - a search in which Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) are used. Three operators are used in this type of search: AND, OR, and NOT. These words can be used to make a smaller or bigger search. It is a good habit to type these words in uppercase letters. Using AND makes your search smaller. Using OR makes your search bigger. Using NOT can narrow your search.

Here's an example of using AND: [|OSLIS Boolean Searching Pages] Here's and example of using OR: [] Here's an example of using NOT: []

Here's an interactive example: [|Rockwell Schrock's Boolean Machine]

//A question for you...// ...which Boolean term (AND, OR, or NOT) will make your search bigger? ...Which term will make it smaller? ...Which term would you use with keywords from your MUSTN'T list to narrow your search? Answers

Quotation Marks or Phrase Search
Computers have a difficult time understanding human speech, especially when they have two or more words to work with. When you type two or more words for a search, the computer has to decide:
 * if you want to see results where the two words are right next to each other, or if the words can be separated by other words.
 * if you want to see results where all the words appear in the Web-site description, or do you want to see results if it has only one of the words.

To help the computer understand what you want in your results, you can use quotation marks to create a phrase with your words. A __phrase__ is created when you put __keywords inside quotation marks__. //For example: "Miami Dolphins"// When you put quotation marks at the beginning of your words and at the end of your words, the computer puts those words together in a phrase. Search engines will find your words exactly as you typed them. The computer will then look for those two words together in that exact order.

//Think about the example: "Miami dolphins".// If you use quotations with this phrase what kind of results do you think you will get? Find Out: "Miami dolphins" If you DO NOT use quotations what results do you think your search will produce? Find Out: Miami dolphins

Truncation
Truncation means "to cut off." You can "cut off" the end of a word to find another word with a different ending. The key to use is the asterisk (*) but sometimes a question mark (?) will work. For example: you type and search for //**whal***//. You would get hits like //whale, whaler, whaling,// or //whalebone//.

//Now you try...// What results would you get if you type and search for //child*//? Answer

[|Searching Strategies Self-Check Quiz]
You don't have to do question #8! Remember, __when you finish the quiz and are looking at the results page...PRINT IT OUT and WRITE THE NUMBER OF HOW MANY YOU GOT CORRECT. You will turn in the quiz results to me next class. Put your name on it!__

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