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Searching the Internet - Frequently Asked Questions

How is the Internet organized?

How do I start searching?

What can I learn from search "tips" and "help" screens?

What's a subject directory?

What's a search engine?

What's a meta search engine?

Where can I get some online help or tutorials?

How is the Internet organized?

It's not! At least, not very well. But there are software programs called "robots" or "spiders" that are constantly surfing the web collecting sites to add to their databases.  The databases are searchable. Some databases try to include all pages, some only the most popular sites, others have people review the pages first and classify them before they are added to the database.

These web databases are called "search engines" or "subject directories." There are many different ones and each one will give you different results for the same search. The one you use depends on what you're looking for, or  just personal preference. It’s a good idea to just choose two or three search engines and subject directories. Get to know them well by reading their "Tips" or "Help" screens. Then apply these tips to your search so that you get the best possible results .

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How do I start searching?

Go to one of the search engine or subject directory that you want to use by typing in its Internet address or URL, such as http://www.yahoo.com. Read the help screens first and get familiar with the search tips. Once you know a little bit about your search engine, you'll be able to perform a more successful search. When you're ready to search, click in the search box at the top of the screen and type in your search terms. Then click on "Search."

After the search is run, the results of your search will be displayed in a list. The most relevant sites are usually displayed at the top of the list. Read through your results. Click on the hyperlink to any of the sites that appear to have what you’re looking for. One you’re done looking at a site, click on "Back" in the browser to return to your list of search results.

Keep looking. Normally you should find what you need in the first twenty, or at the most thirty, sites. If you don’t find what you want, modify your search strategy. Did you check your spelling? Did you remember to put phrases in quotation mark? Are there synonyms you could use?

If you’re still not satisfied, try another search engine or subject directory. Remember, too, that not everything is available on the Internet. Librarians are experienced Internet searchers and can advise you in your searching.

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What can I learn from search "tips" and "help" screens?

Each search engine or subject directory is set up a little differently, but these are the basics to keep in mind as you search:

  • Watch out for spelling errors and typos. This is one of the most common mistakes.
  • Spaces are also important.  Searching for wavelength and wave length will retrieve different results.
  • Be specific and use more than one word. Are you interested in "accounting" or "accounting and careers"?
  • See if you can use truncation, such as typing employ* to retrieve employment, employing, employer, etc. Some search engines automatically use truncation.
  • Some search engines search for phrases if  these are typed in quotations marks, i.e. "acid rain" or "legalization of marijuana."
  • Check how the search engine uses "boolean operators." Boolean operators are the words AND, OR, and NOT and they are used to link search concepts. For example, a search containing:

    lions and tigers and bears - retrieves only documents that contain all three words

    lions or tigers or bears - retrieves documents that contain one or more of these words

    lions or bears not football - retrieves documents with either or both lions or bears, but not if they also contain the word football.

    Some databases will automatically insert AND or OR between each of your search terms.

  • You might also be able to use a + (plus) or a - (minus) to include or exclude certain words, i.e.   +lions +bears -football   - retrieves documents that contain the words lions and bears, but not if they contain the word football.
  • If you are not finding what you want, try using synonyms, e.g. search for "second hand smoke" and then try "passive smoking."

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What's a subject directory?

A subject directory is a collection of web pages which are  first reviewed by people and then organized into categories such as "Entertainment," "Health," or "Science" and then further into sub-categories. Subject directories contain fewer sites (up to about 2 million), but they are higher quality sites and are often the best places to start your searching. They are also useful if you just want to browse through categories. Some of the most popular subject directories are:

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What's a search engine?

A search engine uses a software program to surf the web collecting web sites.  These are compiled into a searchable database. No one reviews or looks at these sites. 

Because search engines are so large, containing as many as 400 million sites, they can find many sites that are not in subject directories. Use a search engine when you have an obscure topic or have not been able to find what you want in a subject directory. Although some of the names change frequently, some of the best known search engines are:

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What's a meta search engine?

Meta search engines don’t actually compile databases themselves, but run your search through several search engines at once and display results on one page.

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Where can I get some online help or tutorials?

Use these sites for more detailed information on searching the Internet:

"Finding Information: The Interactive Search Engine Tutorial." Click on "Finding Information" to try out the tutorial. Lots of other informative links as well.

Infopeople. "Search Engine Quick Guide." A handy chart for the different search engines, meta search engines, and subject directories with the characteristics of each. 

Nicholson, Scott. "Ask Scott: Your Guide to Finding It on the Internet."
Includes an in-depth search tutorial. "Scott" is the virtual reference librarian who is even willing to do your searching for you!

Notess, Gregg R. "Search Engine Showdown: The User’s Guide to Web Searching."   Contains detailed analyses of search engine strategies, sizes, reviews and comparisons of the different search engines. 

Sherman, Chris. "About.com Web Search Guide." An A-Z explanation of search engines and directories.

Sullivan, Danny, ed. "Search Engine Watch."  Web searching tips teach you how to search better and how the major search engines work. Also includes links to search engines reviews, ratings, and tests.

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Page maintained by: Mike Fitzsimmons

Last revision:Tuesday, March 8, 2005
   
 

   
   
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