Pasadena City College – LIB 10A Section# 6201 – Spring 2012 – Jared Burton - 1
Assignment 1: Web Basics and Introduction to Web Search
Tools
Part 1: Basic Web Searching
How search tools work; Different results in different search tools.
STEP 1
Pick one topic of interest to you. Choose two search tools from the list.
Topic of Interest example
Search Tool Example
Social Issues (smoking, gun control)
Google
Personal Interest (career, major)
Bing
Political Issues (election, Congress)
Yahoo!
Entertainment (music, film)
Excite
AOL
MSN
For more topic ideas, search the SIRS
Database through the PCC Library
Website (as shown in class)
More ideas at www.extremesearcher.com
Under Chapter 2 for our Textbook
STEP 2
Develop your topic and search strategy by crafting multiple keywords (2-5). These
keywords should relate to your Topic of Interest. This is your keyword search string.
Enter your keyword search string into the two Search Tools you have chosen exactly
the same way.
STEP 3
Examine the first 10 results in the list of web sites (skip advertisements) for each of the
two Search Tools you have chosen. Choose the most relevant website from the list of
web sites from each Search Tool you have chosen. Print the first page from each of
those two web sites.
STEP 4
On a separate piece of paper, complete the questions and analysis on page 2. Bring
this to the next class meeting with your name on it and be prepared to turn it in.
STEP 5
Save one of the two web sites and save it as a file to a portable memory device (i.e.
flash drive available at PCC bookstore). Bring this to the next class meeting where will
open it and discuss it.
Pasadena City College – LIB 10A Section# 6201 – Spring 2012 – Jared Burton - 2
On a separate piece of paper, complete the questions and analysis, and
bring it to the next class meeting with your name on it and be prepared to
turn it in (for STEP 4 of PART 1):
What is your Topic of Interest?
What are the two Search Tools you are using?
What is the keyword search string for your Topic of Interest that you used in each
Search Tool?
Write a paragraph comparing the results in each of the Search Tools for your keyword
search string. The paragraph should analyze the results by including the following
points:




Compare the number of total results listed for each of the two Search Tools.
Compare the relevancy of the first 10 results for the two Search Tool – how well
did they match your topic?
Compare the similarity of the first 10 results from the two Search Tools – were
some the same or different? Skip advertisements.
Include any other observations you have about this research, the two Search
Tools, or the search results.
Be prepared to answer these questions and discuss your analysis at the next class
meeting.
Part 2: Class Wiki
Adding yourself to the Class Wiki; Posting to the Class Wiki.
STEP 1
If you have not already, join the class wiki by clicking the “request access” link at the top
right of the home page. I will grant you access and then email you.
STEP 2
Log in to the Class Wiki. Click the link in the Navigation box (on the right of any page in
the Class Wiki) that says “Directories and Metasites we explored”. Click the Edit Tab
and then add the URLs of two specialized directories listed in Chapter 2 (pp. 45-54) or
in Chapter 6 (pp. 159-193) of the textbook. Be sure to put your name after the
directories you list to receive credit.
Pasadena City College – LIB 10A Section# 6201 – Spring 2012 – Jared Burton - 3
Part 3: LIB 10A Web Page Checklist: Who What Where When Why?
Name:
Date:
Answer the following questions and turn in at the next class meeting.
How did you get to the page you are examining for this Checklist? Describe your search
strategy including the name of the search tool you used, your search word(s) and the
steps you took to get to this site.
What is the title of the web page? (Hint: Look at the very top of the screen)
What is the URL (Internet address) for this page?
Is this page part of a larger Website? If so, what is the main Website?
(HINT: check the navigation for HOME or shorten the URL to the main domain)
Who is responsible for the information on this page? Can you tell who is the author, the
sponsor or the source of this page? (The author is not the advertising sponsor. HINT:
Look for a link to "About Us" or "Home" or look at the bottom of the main page of the
site. Does the URL give you any clues?)
Can you tell when the page was created or last updated? (HINT: Look at the bottom of
the page)
Pasadena City College – LIB 10A Section# 6201 – Spring 2012 – Jared Burton - 4
Part 3 (continued)
What Date did you look at this page?
What is this page about? Why did someone create this web site? Write a brief
description of the page and its purpose.
Any other comments about this page?