Outline
- Introduction: The Internet, the Web, and the Setting of Expectations
- Web Search Tools: A Classification
- Web Searching 1: General Search Techniques
- Web Searching 2: Advanced Tools and Features
- For More About Web Searching....
Introduction: The Internet, the Web, and the Setting of Expectations
- The Internet
- What is it?
- The Infrastructure - A "network of networks", all talking the same language ("TCP/IP")
- What can you do with it?
- ftp ("file transfer protocol")
- telnet
- WWW
- and other stuff...
- The Web
- The Web is part of the Internet
- Advantages of the Web:
- multimedia
- hypertext
- Features of the Web as an Internet information system:
- A communications protocol:
HTTP - HyperText Transfer Protocol- A "markup" (i.e., screen display) language:
HTML - HyperText Markup Language- A global document addressing scheme:
URL - Uniform Resource Locator- The make-up of a Web address (URL):
- protocol
- host or domain name
- path
- document file name
- Modern Web browsers -- e.g., Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer -- can handle multiple Internet protocols besides http (e.g., telnet, ftp, smtp (email), and more).
- Setting Expectations, Evaluating Sites Found:
- First, not everything is on the Internet (yet)
- Contrast the Wild World of the Web to the structured world of library indexes and databases.
- The Web is uncontrolled and unfiltered -- which is what makes searching it such a challenge
- What is on the Web:
- Lots -- from government documents, to preprint archives, to spoofs, to "What I Did on My Summer Vacation"
- Evaluating what's found: here are some familiar evaluation criteria that acquire added importance when assessing Web search results:
- credibility - is the source or author identified, and are there any indications of credentials?
- objectivity or bias - is the page part of, or produced by, a site with an agenda, or with conflicting interests?
- currency and feedback - is the page dated, and does it provide any means of emailing, or getting in touch with its producer?
W eb Search Tools: A Classification
Search Engines
Also known as "Keyword Indexes", these are large, comprehensive indexes that require you to type in the terms that define your search.
Example:
Other Examples: Alta Vista | Excite | Fast | Google | Infoseek | Lycos | Northern Light | PlanetSearch | Web Crawler
Subject Directories
These classify a small subset of the Web into subject catogories and sub-categories. Can be searched by keyword or by "drilling down" through the categories.
Example:
Other Examples: Britannica | Clearinghouse | Galaxy | INFOMINE | Internet Public Library (Ready Reference) | Looksmart | Magellan | WWW Virtual Library | Yahoo
Name Directories
These are the White Pages and Yellow Pages of the Internet.
Example:
Other Examples: Canada 411 | BC Yellow Pages | Postal Code Lookup (Canada Post) | Big Book (US Yellow Pages) | Sales Leads USA | The Global Yellow Pages
Meta-Searchers
These are tools that submit a search to a number of other search tools automatically.
Example:
Other Examples: All4one | Cyber 411 | Inference Find | MetaCrawler | ProFusion | Savvy
Specialized Search Tools
Tools already focused on a particular subject or Internet area.
Example:
Other Examples: Bibliofind | Canadiana | Deja News | e-journal | Liszt | WebReference.com
Some Collections of Search Tools:
Web Searching 1: General Search Techniques
Different search tools vary widely both in the kinds of search techniques they allow, and in the "syntax" or means by which they express those techniques. We'll look at the following examples of search techniques, using two of the most popular search tools:
- "Boolean" (AND, OR, NOT)
- Proximity (NEAR, WITHIN)
- Truncation (* ? $)
- Nesting
- Phrase
- Field search
- Limiting
See "Power Searching for Anyone", by Danny Sullivan, for more about search tool syntax.
Web Searching 2: Advanced Tools and Features
- A look at a search engine site in more depth: AltaVista again
- Specialty Searches - "Images, Audio & Video"
- "Ask Jeeves"
- Natural language
- Automatic translation
- "link:" and "url:" fields
- Some recent developments in search engine design:
- A new idea for ranking search results based on "popularity":
- Google! - scores a page by counting the number of other pages that link to it.
- A new way of grouping search results:
- Northern Light - uses "Custom Folders" to categorize results automatically.
For More About Web Searching...
- Searching the Internet: Recommended Sites and Search Techniques
by Laura Cohen, from University at Albany Libraries, this is an excellent recent treatment; see her other guides at this site as well, especially Conducting Research on the Internet
- "Search Engine Showdown"
by Greg Notess -- not quite the confrontation implied by the title, this site presents the various search tool features in short, nicely summarized tables.
- Search Engine Watch
from Danny Sullivan -- more for the dedicated Web searcher (or Web Manager), this also includes links to some useful, up-to-date reviews and tutorials for novices.Warning: these studies date very quickly since the search tools and their functionality are changing constantly.
Finally, here's the UBC Library Internet Search Tools page.
(You can get to it by clicking on "Internet Search" on the bottom bar of the Library Home Page, or on "Internet" on the navigation bar at the top and bottom of most Library Web pages.)
And if there's time, you might want to try the WebHunt questions....
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Larry Campbell UBC Library - Koerner larrycam@interchange.ubc.ca |
Kathy Hornby UBC Library - Woodward khornby@interchange.ubc.ca |
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Comments and questions are invited. |