American University of Beirut

Department of Computer Science

Guidelines to Successful Internet Search

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The Internet is a storehouse of interesting and useful information, but that vast amount of information is useless
if you cant find what you want when you need it. Consequently, one of the most important skills an Internet
user can acquire today is how to successfully search for and locate information on the Internet.

Successful searching of the Web involves two key steps:

Briefly describe the information that you are seeking. Start by identifying the main idea or concept in
your topic and determine any synonyms, alternate spellings, or variant word forms for the concept.

Use the brief description with a search tool to display links to pages containing the desired
information.

1) Search Sites
There are many different search sites- web sites that enable users to search for and find information on the
Internet. The two most common search tools are directory search tools and keyword search tools.

Keyword Search: When you know generally what information you want but you dont know that
appropriate URL, one of your best options is to perform keyword search. With a keyword search, you
supply the keywords (one or more key terms), and then the search engine uses these keywords to pull
matching pages from its search database. There are many different types of search sites that allow the
use of keyword search ( www.google.com, www.yahoo.com, www.askjeeves.com, www.dogpile.com).

Directory Search: Directories are usually a good choice if you want information about a particular
category but you dont have a very specific subject in mind. A directory also uses a database, but one
that is typically screened by a human editor so it is much smaller, although often more accurate. One
of the largest directories, the Open Directory Project, located at www.dmoz.org -has classified more
than 4 million Web pages using over 58,000 volunteer editors.

To use a directory located on a search site, categories are selected instead of typing keywords. After
selecting a main category, a list of more specific subcategories for the selected main category is
displayed. Eventually, after selecting one or more subcategories, a list of appropriate web page is
displayed.

Meta-Search Sites: Some search sites are meta-search sites- that is, they automatically submit your
search request to several search engines simultaneously. The meta-search engine receives the result,
eliminates duplicates, orders the hits, and then provides the edited list to you. Example:
www.metacrawler.com

Natural Language Search Sites: A natural language search site, such as askjeeves search site allows
users to enter a search criteria in full sentence form, instead of simply entering keywords. Some natural
language sites include directory search capabilities or other search and reference tools as well.
Example: How do we convert Fahrenheit to Celsius?

For additional information about search sites, visit www.searchenginewatch.com
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2) Search Strategies
There are varieties of strategies that can be employed to help narrow down a list of hits to a more
manageable number (some search queries can return millions of pages). Some of the most useful search
strategies are discussed next.

Using Phrases: One of the most straightforward ways to improve the quality of the hits returned is to
use phrase searching- essentially typing more than one keyword in a keyword search. Most search
engines automatically return the hits that include all the keywords typed first, followed by the hits
matching most of the keywords, continuing down to the hits that only fit one of the keywords. To force
this type of sorting, virtually all search engines allow some type of character- such as quotation marks-
to be used to indicate that you want to search for all the keywords. On some sites, quotation marks can
also be used to indicate that the keywords need to appear in the exact order they were typed. Because
search options vary from site to site, it is best to look for search tips link on the search site you are
using; the search tips should explain the options available for that particular site.

Using Multiple Search Sites: Different search sites can return surprisingly different results. Most users
have a favorite search site that they are comfortable using. However, its important to realize that
sometimes a different search site may perform better. If you are searching for something and arent
making any progress with one search site, then try another search site.

Limiting the Search by using operators: If you enter a phrase with spaces between the keywords, most
search engines will return a links to pages that include all the words. The following table lists some
common operators, and special characters that you can use to refine your search.

Operator Category Description Example
AND
(+)
Boolean Requires both words to be in
the page.
No operator between words or
the plus sign (+) or the AND
operator .
The plus sign is a shortcut for
the AND operator.
art AND music
fish +pollutants + runoff
smoking health hazards

OR Boolean Requires only one of the
words to be on the page.
mental illness OR insane
AND NOT
()
Boolean Excludes pages with the word
following AND NOT.
The minus sign (-) is a
shortcut for the Boolean
operator AND NOT.
computers AND NOT programming
Shakespeare hamlet
( ) Parentheses Parentheses group portions of
Boolean operators together.
physics AND (relativity OR einstein)
- ( romeo +juliet)
Phrase
Searching
Requires the exact phrase
within quotation marks to be
in the page.
harry potter
19
th
century literature
* Wildcard The asterisk (*) at the end of
words substitutes any
combination of characters.
Writ* clou*

Using Appropriate Keywords, Synonyms, Variant word forms, and Wildcards: When choosing the
keywords to be used with a search site, it is important to select words that represent the key concept
you are searching for. Unless you are using a natural language site, leave off any extraneous, such as
the, a, in, and so forth. For example, if you want to find out about bed and breakfasts located in
the town of Leavenworth, Washington, a keyword phrase such Leavenworth Washington bed and
breakfast should return appropriate results.
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Another strategy is to try synonym approach. Synonyms- words have meaning similar to other words-
can be typed as keywords in addition to, or instead of, the original keywords. For example, you could
replace bed and breakfast with hotel or lodging. To use synonyms in addition to the original keywords,
Boolean operators can be used, such as the search phrase bed and breakfast OR hotel OR
Lodging AND Leavenworth AND Washington.

Variant- or alternate- word forms are another possibility. Try to think of another spelling or form of
your keywords, if your search still doesnt work as desired. For example, bed and breakfast could
replaced by bed & breakfast and B&B.

Another strategy that is sometimes used with keywords is the wildcard approach. A wildcard is a
special symbol that is used in conjunction with a part of a word to specify the pattern of the terms you
want to search for. For instance, the asterisk wildcard (*) is used to represent any number of letters at
the asterisk location, so on many sites searching for hand sign* would search for hand sign, hand
signal, hand signals, hand signaling and any another word that fit this specific pattern.

Using Field Searches: A more advanced search strategy that can be used when basic searching isnt
producing the desired results is field searching- a search limited to a particular search characteristic (or
field), such as the page title, URL, page text, or domain. When a field search is performed, the specific
text is searched for only in the specified field. Many, but not all , search engines support some type of
field searches. Check the search tips for the particular search site you are using to see if it has this
option.

Guidelines to Successful Searching:
You can improve your Web searches by following these guidelines:
Use nouns as keywords, and put the most important terms first in your keyword.
Use the asterisk (*) to find plurals of words. For example: retriev* returns retrieves, retrieval,
retriever, or any other variation.
Type keywords in lowercase (small letters) to find both lowercase and uppercase (capital
letters) variations.
Use quotation marks to create phrases so the search engine finds the exact sequence of words.
Use a hyphen alternative. For example, use email, e-mail.
Limit the search by language.
Use uppercase characters for Boolean operators in your search statements to differentiate
between the words and the operators.
Before you use a search engine, read its help.
The Internet contains many search engines. If your search is unsuccessful with one search
engine, try another.

3) Evaluating Search Results
Once a list of potentially matching Websites is returned as a result of a search, it is time to evaluate the sites
to determine their quality and potential for meeting your needs. Two things to look for before clicking on a
link for a matching page are:

Does the title and listed description sound appropriate for the information you are seeking?
Is the URL from an appropriate company or organization? For example, if you want technical
specifications about a particular product, you may want to start with information on the
manufacturers Web site. If you are looking for government publication, stick with government
Web sites.
After the appropriate Web page is found, the evaluation process is still not complete. If you are using the
information on the page for something other than idle curiosity, you want to be sure the information can be
trusted. Some general guidelines are listed below.
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Evaluate the source: Information from the company or organization in question is generally
more reliable than information found on an individuals Web site. Government and educational
institutions are usually good sources for historical or research data. If you clicked a link on a
Web page to open a document, double-check the URL to make sure you still know what
organization the page is from- it may be located on a completely different Web site than the
page from which it was accessed.

Evaluate the author: Does the author have the appropriate qualifications for the information in
question? Does he or she have a bias or is the information supposed to be objective?

Check the timeliness of the information: Webpage content may be updated regularly or
posted once and forgotten. Always look for the publication date of online newspaper and
magazine articles; check for a last updated date on pages containing other types of
information youd like to use.

Verify the information: When you will be using Web-based information in a report, paper,
Webpage, or other document where accuracy is important, try to locate the same information
from other reputable Web sources to verify the accuracy of the information you plan to use.

4) Citing I nternet Sources
The citation guidelines for Webpage content are similar to those for written material. Guidelines for
crediting some Internet-based resources are listed next. Different style manuals may have different rules for
citing Internet reference. The following guideline were obtained from the American Psychological
Association Web site.

Web page article (journal, magazine, etc..): List the Author, date of publication, article title, and
periodical information, similar to a print source, and then add a Retrieved statement and date with
the appropriate URL of the Webpage used.
Examples:
o Mion, L. (May 31, 2003). Care Provision for Older Adults: Who will Provide?
Online Journal of issues in nursing, 8 no. 2. retrieved March 1, 2004, from
http:///www.nursingworld.org/ojin/topic21/tpc21_3.htm

o Naughton,Keith (September 29, 2003). Chrysler Shifts Gears. Newsweek. Retrieved
March 13, 2004 from http://www.msnbc.com/news/969677.asp?0dm=s118k

Web page content (not an article): List the author( if there is one), date of publication ( if available;
if not use n.d.), and Web page title, followed by a Retrieved statement and date with the
appropriate URL of the Webpage used.
Examples:
o Sullivan, Bob ( September 26, 2003). New Arrest in Internet Attacks case. MSNBC.
Retrieved February 11,2004, from http://msnbc.com/news/972467.asp?0dn=C14OT

o Biography of Ronald Reagan. (n. d.). Retrieved March 5, 2003 from
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/rr40.html

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E-mail correspondence: List the senders name followed by a personal communication statement
and the date received and the date received next to the reference in the text. This reference isnt
included in the references section, it is usually cited in the text.
Examples:
o L.A. Chafez (personal communication, March 28, 2003)
5) References:

Computing Essentials 2010, Oleary and Oleary, Mc-Graw Hill.
Discovering Computers 2010: A Gateway to Information, Shelly Cashman Series, Thomson Course
Technology.
Management Information Systems for the Information Age, 4/e, Haag, Cummings & Mcberry, Mc-
Graw Hill.
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Morley and Parker, 10
th
Edition.