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Finding Information
on the Web
Advanced Search Techniques
Outline
First: Some Background
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The Internet
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What is it?
- It's not just another name for the Web - it
includes more.
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It's really an "infrastructure" - A "network of networks",
that all talk the same language ("TCP/IP")
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What does it include? Some examples:
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email
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ftp ("file transfer protocol")
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telnet
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WWW
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and other stuff...(anybody remember "gopher"?)
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The Web
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The Web is part of the Internet -
an Internet information system characterized by the use of
"hypertext"
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Features of the Web as an Internet information system:
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A communications protocol:
HTTP - HyperText Transfer Protocol
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A "markup" (i.e., screen display) language:
HTML - HyperText Markup Language
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A global document addressing scheme:
URL - Uniform Resource Locator
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The make-up of a Web address (URL):
e.g., http://www.library.ubc.ca/home/websearch/quick.html
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protocol: http
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host or domain name:
www.library.ubc.ca
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path: /home/websearch
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document file name: quick.html
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Modern Web browsers -- e.g., Netscape Navigator, Internet
Explorer -- can handle multiple Internet protocols besides http
(e.g., telnet, ftp, smtp (email), and more).
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Setting Expectations, Evaluating Sites Found:
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First, not everything is on the Internet (yet)
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Contrast the Wild World of the Web to
the structured world of library indexes and databases.
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The Web is uncontrolled and unfiltered -- which is what makes
searching it such a challenge
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What is on the Web:
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Evaluating what's found: here are some familiar evaluation
criteria that acquire added importance when assessing Web search results:
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credibility - is the source or author identified,
and are there any indications of credentials?
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objectivity or bias - is the page part of, or produced
by, a site with an agenda, or with conflicting interests?
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currency and feedback - is the page dated, and does
it provide any means of emailing, or getting in touch with its producer?
- Here's a page that
provides more information about evaluating Internet resources
Back to the Outline
S
econd: A Classification of Web Search Tools
There are a lot of different Web search tools - but they can be
grouped into a few general types or classes, as follows (notice that
Yahoo, for example, is in a different class from AltaVista):
Back to the Outline
T
hird: An Example & Comparison of Web Search Techniques
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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: AltaVista
and
Google:
Back to the Outline
Finally: Some Special Search Tools
and Features
This sampling is intended just to give you an idea
of the rich variety of search features and functions that are available.
Back to the Outline
Postscript: For More About Web
Searching...
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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.
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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.
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About.com's Web Search
from Kevin Elliott -- topical and popular.
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.)
Back to the Outline
Last modified: Oct 24, 2006 |
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