Better Searching
Directions and Worksheet
This worksheet is designed to help you record your answers as you explore advanced Internet
searching techniques and think about why the number of hits came out as they did. Before getting
started, make sure your advanced search options are completely visible.
This link will take you directly to Google Advanced Search.
Go to
http://www.google.com/advance
d_search
When searching on your own, you can type “advanced search” into the
search bar of any browser and the first link will be to Google Advanced
Search.
Another option when using Google is to conduct a search then scroll to
the bottom of the first search results screen where you’ll find a link to
Advanced Search.
This window opens, but does
not include all the options
available for advanced
searching.
To access the other options,
see below.
If you scroll down the page,
you’ll see a set of links under
the heading You can also…
Follow the link titled Find pages
that are similar to or link to a
URL.
Now you’re ready to refine your
search.
Directions: The column on the left tells what to search for and how to search for it. Record the
number of hits you get in the Matches column. Explain what contributed to the number of hits in the
Reasons column. The space in the column will expand as you type.
Question
Find web pages that have...
all these words: Atlantis continent
# Matches
1080
The first search shows only
what? Sites with all the words
Atlantis Continent And excludes
what? The words shuttle film
movie
But don't show pages that have...any of these
unwanted words: shuttle film movie
Find web pages that have...
all these words: Atlantis
Find web pages that have...
all these words: Greenville
The second one has more hits
because… it was a more broad
search and only had to have
one word
7,620,000
The first search shows only
what? Websites and results with
the words Greenville, Maine,
ME And excludes what? South
Carolina SC
one or more of these words: Maine ME
But don't show pages that have...
any of these unwanted words: South Carolina SC
Find web pages that have...
all these words: Greenville
10,600,000
this exact wording or phrase: San Diego State
University
577,000
Find web pages that have...
all these words: San Diego State University
Reasons
1,800,000
this exact wording or phrase: Bill 602P
14,500
this exact wording or phrase: the recent online
hoax
16,000
this exact wording or phrase: demonstrating
genuine leadership
3,470
this exact wording or phrase: Jenny kissed me
when we met
37,800
The second one has more hits
because… It has no words to
exclude and only requires one
word
The second one has more hits
because… The words only have
to exist and do not have to be in
that exact order
What do these searches show?
Bill 602P: Email hoax on
taxation of email sending.
The Recent online hoax: shows
a broad spectrum of recent
online hoaxes that have
occurred.
Demonstrating genuine
leadership: Talks about
President Bush’s demonstration
of genuine leadership.
Jenny kissed me when we met:
This search has things about
the poem called “Jenny kissed
me when we met.”
Page-specific tools:
Find pages similar to the page:
www.edutopia.org
49
Find pages that link to the page:
www.edutopia.org
580
Find pages similar to the page:
kids.msfc.nasa.gov
11
342
Find pages that link to the page:
kids.msfc.nasa.gov
These are different because...
Link- Has pages that have a link
to the site that you choose
Similar- Has pages that have
similar content to www.edutopia
.org
These are different because...
The pages are different
because they show pages that
include information that is
related to the website
kids.msfc.nasa.gov. The
websites that link have the link
to the page kids.msfc.nasa.gov
Reflection: Please reflect on what you learned while completing this assignment.
Why are these advanced, Internet searching techniques important to you? Support your ideas with
specific examples.
These specific searches are important because you can search things more directly and find
what you want without having to choose from thousands or millions of options that may have
nothing to do with that you are trying to find. For example you can exclude words that you do not
want it to have or that you want it to have on it. Also, you can search websites with the same type
of content or that link to the content you want to have. You can search phrases that you would like
to see in the content of the page on the site. Specific searching makes things like reports and
projects where you need information specifically. This information and knowing how to do this can
help everyone.