Most people know how to complete a general search with a search engine. However, many people are unaware of the strategies and tools available to them to make their search more specific and helpful. In the document below you will find information on the difference between a search engine and a directory, strategies and tools that will allow you to complete a better search, related links and helpful resources and a chart summarizing search tool characteristics. This documentation is based on the assumption that the user knows how to complete a general search using a search tool.

Page Contents:

• Background Information
• Choosing a Search Strategy
• Using Tools
• Search Tool Syntax
• Boolean Operators with Search Tools
• Search Tool Characteristics
• Related Links and Helpful Resources

Background Information

There are two different types of search tools: a search engine and a directory. Knowing the difference between the two will help make your search be more productive.

1. Search Engines are online tools that permit you to search the WWW based on keywords you enter into the search engine. They compare your keywords to the words found on the millions of pages of Web information. The search engine will then list the Web sites that match with your keywords. While most search engines operate in a similar fashion, there can be slight, but important, differences in how they work. Typical search engines include, Google, Alta Vista, Infoseek, HotBot, MetaCrawler, Excite and Lycos.
2. Directories are also online tools for locating information but they operate slightly differently than search engines. Directories search only through Web sites which have been preselected by individuals working for the company producing the directory. They typically do not search the entire WWW. Consequently, by using a directory, you may be limiting yourself to a smaller portion of the total Web resources available. However, because the Web sites have been selected by humans, they may have a higher quality. Examples of directories are Yahoo!

Choosing a Search Strategy

To search the WWW effectively you need to know the strategies available to you. Choosing a search strategy is essential to successfully completing a search and requires identifying the type of search or combination or searches you wish to perform. The following is a list of search strategies you can use.

A Keyword Search - This type of search uses keywords or combinations of keywords using Boolean operators (talked about below). Use the search engines Alta Vista, Infoseek, Hotbot, and Lycos to conduct keyword searches. Search directories such as Yahoo! and Magellan can be used to conduct keyword searches also.

A Natural Language Search - This type of search permits you to enter a question directly into the search engine. For example you would enter "What is nuclear energy." The search engine would return Web pages relevant to that question. Natural language search is a type of keyword search; the search engine uses words in your question as keywords. Alta Vista and Lycos Pro both support natural language search.

A Metasearch - Metasearch engines combine many search engines together when they complete a search for you. The results in turn, can be quite powerful. For example MetaCrawler combines Yahoo!, Infoseek, Alta Vista, Excite, Webcrawler, and Lycos together.

Using Tools

There are two kinds of tools that make searches more productive: syntax and boolean operators. By using these tools, your results will be more specific and helpful.

Search Tool Syntax

Using syntax can greatly improve your ability to find information quickly. Rules for using proper syntax can be found usually in the help section of the search tools. Below are some search tool syntax tips.

Quotation Mrks - Using quotation marks around a phrase tells the search tool to look for the exact phrase on a Web page.

Example: "breast cancer" returns pages containing this exact phrase somewhere in the page.

Excluding Words - Using a minus sign tells the search tool which words to exclude from a search. Make sure there is a space after your first word.

Example: viruses -computer returns pages about viruses but not computer viruses.

Requiring Words - Using a plus sign tells the search tool which keywords are required. Make sure there is a space after your first word.

Example: cancer +breast returns Web pages on cancers which must include breast.

Wildcards - Using an asterisk (*) in your search tells the search tool to look for all the different endings possible for your keyword.

Example: If you were searching for cellular transport, you may enter cell tran*. The search engine will search for cell transport, cell transportation, and all other endings of tran.

Case Sensitivity - Almost all search tools and directories are case sensitive.

Example: If you enter Cancer, you will get Web pages which contain the word Cancer, but not cancer. Entering cancer will return Web pages with that word, regardless of case.

Boolean Operators with Search Tools

Boolean operators are terms that allow you to combine keywords in different ways so your search is more productive. Typical boolean operators are AND, OR, and NOT, and are generally placed between keywords. Boolean operators can be used in combination and must be capitalized in your search. It is also essential to read the help section of each search tool to determine how they specifically use Boolean operators.

AND - Using the Boolean operator AND tells the search tool to combine your keywords.
Example: acid AND rain returns pages which contain both terms

OR - Using the Boolean operator OR tells the search tool to look for either keyword.
Example: acid OR rain returns pages which contain either acid or rain but not necessarily both

NOT - Using the Boolean operator NOT tells the search tool to exclude the keyword that follows the NOT.
Example: acid NOT rain returns pages with acid but they do not contain the word rain

AND NOT - Using the Boolean operator AND and NOT tells the search tool two things. It first says which keywords to combine, and then also which keyword to eliminate.
Example: acid AND rain NOT snow returns pages with acid and rain but does not contain the word snow.

This is just one example of how to combine Boolean operators. They can be combined in any manner.

Search Tool Characteristics

The following is a table summary of the material covered in this document.

In this document you learned the difference between a search engine and directory as well as strategies and tools to complete a better search. You should now be able to apply this information to a search tool.

Related Links and Helpful Resources

Now that you have learned the strategies for doing a productive search, here are a list of search tools and their addresses. If you need any additional help regarding strategies for search tools, look under the help menu of each of these sites.