Search Engine Strategies
. . . Beyond Yahoo and Google
Presented by
Linda J. Goff,
Head, Instructional Services
CSUS Library
LJG 8/11/04
Fall, 2004
Today’s Agenda
Web Structure, Jargon & definitions.
How search engines think and work.
Picking the right web search tool.
Searching techniques & tips.
Evaluating your sources thinking critically about information.
Demonstration.
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Glossary
blogging
browser
cache
cookies
html
http
hypertext link
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Metasearch
Invisible Web
phishing
portal sites
SacLink
telnet
URL
What is the World Wide Web?
The World Wide Web
(WWW) is a global
interactive, dynamic,
cross-platform,
graphical hypertext
information system that
runs on the Internet.
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The Web is Growing Exponentially
Over 10% of
World is
connected!
Internet users
estimated to
be 605.60
million as of
September
2002.
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Source: http://www.nua.ie/surveys/how_many_online/
3 Main Types of Search Tools:...
Web Directory - Hierarchical organized in a classification
system.
Standard Search Engine – uses
mathematical algorithms and
boolean searches for keyword
searches
Expert Pages – reviewed list.
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Expert Pages
Infomine - Scholarly Internet Resource
Collection http://infomine.ucr.edu/
Librarians Index to the Internet
Information You Can Trust http://lii.org/
The WWW Virtual Library
http://www.vlib.org
CSUS Librarian Guides:
http://library.csus.edu/guides/
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Instruction
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Now Web search tools can ...
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Search multiple search engines
simultaneously.
Find sites that answer natural
language questions.
Ranks sites by how many links have
been made to them.
Sorts matches into folders by
categories.
Have advanced searching features
Or - a combination of the above.
Metasearch engines
Search simultaneously across
multiple search engines and
displays top sites in each:
– Dogpile.com
– Vivisimo.com
Warning: Some now charge for higher
listings, e.g., Overture
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Natural Language Search
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Type your questions in Natural
Language, e.g., AskJeeves.com
Analyzes words, grammar and
syntax, and uses "templatics" to
look for patterns in the way
questions are asked.
Jeeves responds with one or more
closely related questions that it
already knows the answer to.
Part 2
How Search
Engines Think
and Work
Search
Engines
Most search engines and
databases use Boolean
Operators to create search
statements, e.g.
(domestic or family) and
(violence not sexual abuse)
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Boolean Operators
AND requires both terms to
appear in the items that are
retrieved.
OR requires either term to
appear in the items that are
retrieved.
NOT excludes a term.
Boolean Search Strategy
a
AND
b
family and violence
a
OR
c
family or domestic
b
NOT
d
violence not sexual abuse
a
a
bb
b
c
d
What Search Engines Don’t Search
‘Bots only crawl the visible web
which is only about 20% of
everything that is on the
Internet.
They don’t look at the “Deep
Web”, or “The Invisible Web.”
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Invisible Web contains
CSUS Library
Instruction
Fall 2004
Commercial databases that
charge a fee, e.g., library research
databases of periodical articles.
Sites that require membership or
a login.
Searchable pages such as
catalogs, phone books or
directories, e.g.AMA Physician
Search.
Library Databases Access
Authentication automatic for users
with Web access via CSUS and
SacLink.
CSUS users with other Internet
Service Providers (AOL, Prodigy
etc.) must create a P.I.N. in EUREKA
for authentication to access Library
databases.
To connect from off campus go to
http://www.lib.csus.edu/databases/help/page.
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Choose based on your
Information Need
Try Noodle Tools:
http://www.noodletools.com/de
bbie/literacies/information/5loc
ate/adviceengine.html
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Search Engine Comparisons
Most have built-in search tips or
help screens.
Boolean operators, phrase
searching and other limiters are
often available.
Be aware! Some now charge for
higher page placement e.g,
Overture.
CSUS Library
Instruction
Fall 2004
Handout
See “Searching the Web”
handout of special search
features and URLs for most
popular search engines.
http://libweb.uoregon.edu/guide
s/searchweb/srchweb-info.html
CSUS Library
Instruction
Fall 2004
Part 3
Search Tips
& Strategies
World
Wide
Web
Reading Parts of the URL
http://www.lib.csus.edu/databases/
The part before the colon is the access
method or protocol, (hypertext
transfer protocol).
The part after the double slashes is the
net address or domain name of the
computer where the resource is
located.
The directory path and filename
come after the next slash.
Common Codes in Domain Names
edu - higher
education
com - commercial
firms (+22 million)
gov - government
agencies
mil - military (US)
org - general
noncommercial
organizations
net - computer
networks
int - international
organizations
State or Country of
origin:
– uk (United
Kingdom)
– ca (Canada)
– ca.us
(California.
United States)
New Suffixes added by ICANN,
effective Spring 2002
.info (anyone)
.biz (business)
.name
(individuals)
.pro
(professionals)
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.museum (accredited)
.aero (Airtransport
industry)
.coop (business
cooperatives)
Kids.us (Content
and technology
restrictions)
Think critically about the
information you find on the Web...
Anybody can publish
anything on the Web.
There are no editors and
no central authorities.
There are no guarantees that
the site you find will be there
next time you look.
CSUS Library
Instruction
Fall 2004
Questions you should ask when
evaluating a Web page:
Who is the author or sponsor?
What authority/expertise do they have?
What is the purpose/scope of the page?
Is it current? When was it last updated?
How complete and accurate is the
information? Does it have a bias?
How usable is it? Do the the links work?
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Fall 2004
You must...
Examine assumptions and
possible biases.
Distinguish between fact and
opinion.
Compare and contrast related
pieces of information from other
sources (print and online).
CSUS Library
Instruction
Fall 2004
Bogus sites proliferate
POP! the First Human Male Pregnancy
– http://www.malepregnancy.com
Dihydrogen Monoxide Research
– http://www.dhmo.org/
Clones-R-Us
– http://www.d-b.net/dti/
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Instruction
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Sites need to be examined
carefully and compared
Martin Luther King Jr. – A Historical
Examination
– http://www.mlking.org
The King Center
http://web.archive.org/web/200102081
60923/http://thekingcenter.org/
– http://www.thekingcenter.com/
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Web Searching Tips
Use unique words or phrases.
Check spelling !
Use synonyms or multiple spellings
(e.g., marijuana marihuana)
Try more than one search engine.
Use words like “research” or
“policy” to find more scholarly sites.
Use domain limit feature e.g.,
Domain:edu or domain:gov
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Citing Electronic Sources
Look for it on the Library Home
Page under Databases and
Periodical Indexes. Look on the left
for Guides For General & News and
click on Citing Electronic Sources.
The URL is...
http://www.lib.csus.edu/guides/budge/eo
graphy.htm.
WARNING
Con artists and scams are
proliferating on the Web.
Don’t use your credit card
number unless you are
assured of a secure system.
Don’t download unfamiliar
software.
Don’t give out personal
information.
CSUS Library
Instruction
Fall 2004
Browser Configuration Tips
Clear the memory cache before you
begin a search session. It will speed
up your response time.
Use the following path for I.E.: Tools
-> Internet Options -> Delete Files.
For Netscape use : Edit ->
Preferences -> Advanced -> Cache
Delete Cookies at the same screen.
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Shortcuts
Use Bookmarks or Favorites
Use Go from the pull-down menus
instead of the Back button or use the
History or right mouse button.
Use the Stop and Reload buttons if
loading a document takes too long.
CTRL ALT DEL will bring up Windows
2000 Task Manager and you can close
the browser if it is not responding.
CSUS Library
Instruction
Fall 2004
Part 4
Popular
Search
Engines
World
Wide
Web
US Digital
Media
Universe
Audience
Reach
Home & Work Users
January 2003
KEY:
GG=Google,
YH=Yahoo,
MSN=MSN,
AOL=AOL,
AJ=Ask Jeeves,
OVR=Overture (GoTo),
IS=InfoSpace,
NS=Netscape,
AV=AltaVista,
LY=Lycos,
ELINK=EarthLink.com,
LS=LookSmart,
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Instruction
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http://searchenginewatch.com/reports/netratings.html
Billions Of Textual Documents
Indexed as of Sept 2, 2003
KEY:
GG=Google
ATW=AllTheWeb,
INK=Inktomi,
AV=AltaVista,
TMA=Teoma.
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Instruction
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Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/reports/article.php/2156481
There are specialized search
engines for almost every topic
For a list of over 3,000 search engines
go to Search Engine Guide:
http://www.searchengineguide.com
For detailed information aimed at search
professionals try
SearchEngineWatch:
http://www.searchenginewatch.com
CSUS Library
Instruction
Fall 2004
Most Popular Search Engines
All the Web, AltaVista,
Gigablast, Ask Jeeves, Dogpile,
Google, HotBot, Metacrawler,
LookSmart, Lycos, MSN
Search, Netscape Search,
Teoma, WiseNut and Yahoo!
(Source: SearchEngineWatch.com)
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Google.com
Result rankings are based on
the number of links made to the
site from other web pages.
Give you sites that web page
creators have “voted” for with
their links.
An .edu link counts more than
one from a .com page.
CSUS Library
Instruction
Fall 2004
Google.com
Most popular search engine &
searches greatest number of
pages (3.3 million)
Special features include
Advanced search, Image,
Froogle, Blogger, Google
Catalogs etc.
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Vivisimo.com
Queries one or more web search
engines (Metasearch).
Clusters Documents into groups
based on this information.
Groups the documents Orders the
groups and the documents within
each group.
Displays the hierarchical categories.
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Yahoo.com
Originated “Directory” format
to organize sites by subject and
subheadings.
Can personalize: “My Yahoo”.
Geographic versions “Get
Local.”
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Teoma.com
Results – ranked list.
Refine – suggestions to narrow
your search.
Resources – link collections
from experts to enthusiasts.
Watch out for “Sponsored”
page results – paid listings.
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Hotbot.com
Advanced searching in Hotbot and
other search engines lets you limit
by:
–
–
–
–
–
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Instruction
Fall 2004
Language
Domain
Region
Date
Content etc.
Alltheweb.com
Indexes 3.15 billion pages
(almost as many as Google).
You can customized your
preferences.
Language translator and
language settings.
CSUS Library
Instruction
Fall 2004
This PowerPoint presentation
was prepared by:
Linda J. Goff
Head, Instructional Services
University Library
California State University,
Sacramento.
ljgoff@csus.edu
http://www.lib.csus.edu/services/instruction/indiv/
CSUS Library
Instruction
Fall 2004
LJG:2/16/2004
Search Engine Comparison
Always try more
than one!
http://www.llrx.com
/features/searchen
ginechart.htm
CSUS Library
Instruction
Fall 2004
CSUS Library
Instruction
Fall 2004