Here are some basic searching tips that will help you to search the web more effectively. Remember, each search engine is different. To learn more about each site, visit the site's help features.

• Use Boolean Operators
  • Use "OR" to search for ANY of the words to be on the web page.
  • Use "AND" to require that ALL of the word must be on the web page.
  • Use "NOT" to require that the word NOT be on the web page.
  • Use "NEAR" to require that terms be close to each other.
  • Use Parentheses "( )" to "nest" terms for more complicated searches.
• Choose Words Carefully
  • Be Specific
  • Pick out most important terms
• Use appropriate Spacing
  • Do not run your words together.
• Include additional words by placing a plus (+) sign directly before the word.
• Exclude words by placing a minus (-) sign directly before the word.
• Use Quotation Marks (" ") to search for an exact phrase
• Use Meta Words to search for a keyword in a specific component:
  • "site:" documents within a specific site
  • "hostname:" documents by a specific host
  • "link:" documents linked to a specific URL
  • "url:" a specific web page
  • "inurl:" a specific keyword within the URL
  • "intitle:" a specific keyword within the title
  • "language:" a keyword in a specific language
  • "loc:" a keyword about a specific location
• Capital Letters:
  • Most search engines are not CASE-SENSITIVE. This means that you will probably get the same results whether or not you use capital letters.
  • Sometimes, by capitalizing letters, you can tell the search engine to only look for sites with the capitalized form of the keywords
  • So.....if you are not sure, go ahead and capitalize first letters of proper nouns. If the engine looks for capitals, your search will be narrowed down. If it doesn't look for capitals, it will not hinder your search.
• Type words in the correct order.
  • Most search engines search for words in the order they are entered in.
• Refine your results:
  • Whenever possible, use the "Search within Results" feature to narrow down your searches
  • Use "Advanced Search" to set specific preferences for your search.
  • Use the categories available when searching with Directory Search Engines.

• Search Engines:
  • "Crawlers" or "Spiders"
  • Sites added to listings automatically by a computer program
  • Not organized
  • Ranked
  • Not evaluated
  • Examples:
    • Google, Excite, Web Crawler
• Subject Directories:
  • Human-powered - People search for sites to add to listings
  • Organized into subjects or categories
  • Often evaluated by people for appropriateness and usefulness
  • Examples:
    • Yahoo, About
• Meta-Search Engines:
  • Uses several different engines at once
  • Control of searches are limited
  • Examples:
    • Metacrawler, Dog Pile
• "Invisible Web"
  • Allows user to find sites that are "hidden" from search engines and directories
  • Searches within site databases
  • To learn more, visit http://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/evaluating-resources
  • Examples:
    • AcademicInfo, Librarians Index

1. "AltaVista - Basic Help" http://www.altavista.com/help/search/default
2. "Ask Jeeves - Advanced Search Tips" http://sp.ask.com/docs/help/help_advsearchtips.html
3. "Boolean Searching" http://searchenginewatch.com/facts/article.php/2155991
4. "Dogpile - Advanced Search" http://www.dogpile.com/info.dogpl/search/help/tips.htm
5. "Excite - Search Help" http://www.infospace.com/info.xcite/about/corporate/help.htm
6. "Giga Blast Help" http://www.gigablast.com/help.html
7. "Google Help - Basics of Search" http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/basics.html
8. "How Serach Engines Work" http://searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/article.php/2168031
9. "MSN Expert Search Tips" http://search.msn.com/docs/help.aspx?t=SEARCH_CONC_ExpertSearchTips.htm
10. "MSN Keyword and Symbols Reference" http://search.msn.com/docs/help.aspx?t=SEARCH_REF_AdvSrchOperators.htm
11. "Types of Search Engines" http://uaweb.arizona.edu/resources/tutorial/search/types.shtml
12. "Types of Search Tools" http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/ToolsTables.html
13. "WebCrawler - Search Tips" http://www.webcrawler.com/info.wbcrwl/search/help/tips.htm
14. "Yahoo! - Search Tips" http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/tips/tips-04.html

 

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by: Casey Jo Burrus
Last Updated: July 25, 2016

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