Internet Search Tools

COMP1260 > Using the Internet

Introduction Searching the Internet can be a very useful skill to learn if you want to be able to find the information you're looking for as soon as possible. There are several things to take into consideration when deciding which browser to use when searching the Internet, as well as some strategies you can use to narrow down the results of your search to help you find what you're looking for. Also, using a good search engine is very helpful and will increase your chances of finding the information you desire.

...by students There was a time when I used to use Internet Explorer as my web browser. This was the first browser I ever used and thought it was pretty good so I never tried any others. One day my friends convinced me to try out Firefox and I fell in love with the tabbed browsing feature. Back then Internet Explorer didn't have tabbed browsing. After using Firefox for a couple weeks I was really starting to like it. There were times when I opened Internet Explorer by accident and I would find my self frantically pressing Ctrl+T to open new tabs but IE wasn't having any of it. So after experiencing this a few times, I basically removed IE and have been using Firefox ever since.

Defining Some Terms

There are a few terms that you may need to understand the definitions of to search the Internet.

• Browser: An interface for using the Internet. E.g. Firefox, IE, Flock, Safari, etc.
• Search Engine: An interface used within a broswer for conducting searches. E.g. Google, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, etc.
• Keyword: A single word used for a search. Results will be related to this keyword.
• Phrase: A series of keywords to help narrow down a search to get more specific results.
• Searching: Process of trying to find information on the Internet using a search engine.

Selecting a Browser

The first step in searching the Internet is choosing a browser to use. The browser you choose will depend on what you want from your browser. There are certain browsers that are only available on certain operating systems. Some browsers also have add-ons besides the web browsing aspect. For example, some browsers have social networking websites directly integrated into the browser. Auto-update is a convenient feature included in some web browsers and not others. Some more features that may influence your decision on choosing a browser are password and download managing as well as spell checking. Listed below are a few browsers you can choose, along with some key information that might influence your decision on which browser you use.

• Internet Explorer: security issues, no download managing, no spell checking, has password management
• Firefox: secure, has download managing, has spell checking, has auto-update
• Google Chrome: has auto-updater, has password and download managing, has privacy mode
• Flock: has Facebook and Twitter integrated into the browser
• Safari: available for Mac, has download and password managing

You are encouraged to try different browsers and see which one you prefer.

Figure 1: Free Google Search Coupon
A humorous take on the idea of searching the Internet.
Free Google Search Coupon courtesy of flickr.com [1]

Which Search Engine to Use

Google is, without a doubt, the most popular search engine around. Of course, which search engine you use is all based off your preferences. Chances are that Google will be able to give you the results you are looking for. If Google happens to disappoint there are several other search engines you can use that may help you find what you're looking for. Yahoo and MSN Search are a couple other popular search engines. Ask.com (formerly known as AskJeeves.com) is an interesting search engine. It actually prompts the user to ask a question instead of just inputing keywords. Of course you don't need to ask a question, you can input a phrase, but it is just a neat element.

Useful Searching Strategies

Searching the Internet is an important skill to learn. There are millions of searches being made everyday on Google alone. Just imagine how many searches are being made in the world each day. There are a few things you need to know in order to find what you're looking for as easy and as fast as possible.

Narrowing Down Your Search

When you do a search there is a good chance the information you want will be found, but there is also a good chance there will be a lot of information found that is not related to your topic at all. Knowing exactly what you're looking for is the first step in finding what you want. If you don't really know what you're looking for there is a chance you won't find it. A good way to begin a search is selecting keywords that best describe the topic you're searching for.

Selecting the Right Keywords

It's best to use several keywords in a search to help narrow down the results you will receive. Try to use keywords that are nouns when searching. Nouns are your best bet for narrowing down a search. Only use adjectives you think it will help you narrow down the search. For example, if you're looking for something on speed skating you probably want to use 'speed' and 'skating' as keywords rather than just 'skating' as the search will probably retrieve more results about actual speed skating. Another way to help define a search is actually entering phrase for the searching engine to use to find your results.

Using Phrases in a Search

You will notice that if you are searching for an phrase by using the actual phrase in the search bar you will never really find what your looking for. In order to get results with your phrase you need to put quotation marks around the phrase. This tells the search engine you are looking for a phrase, with the words in a specific order. This will most likely get you your results right away. For example, if you're looking for an article about the best video game ever you could probably enter "Best video game of all time" as a search.

Using Boolean Logic

Using the keywords AND, OR, and AND NOT will help you find useful results.

• The AND keyword can be used to find documents with 2 or more specific keywords.
  • Searching for 'Dogs AND Cats' will give documents including both keywords.
• The OR keyword can be used to find documents with any of the keywords you use.
  • Searching for 'Dogs OR Cats' will find pages that either have the keyword 'Dogs' or the keyword 'Cats', or both.
• The AND NOT keyword can be used to find documents with one keyword but not another.
  • Searching for 'Dogs AND NOT Cats' will give you documents including the keyword 'Dogs' and not including the keyword 'Cats'.

Other Searching Tips

Choosing appropriate keywords and know how to search for phrases are probably to two more important things to keep in mind when doing a search, but there are some more things to keep in mind when searching.

• Most search engines don't really care about capitalization, but it is probably best to use all lowercase as opposed all uppercase.
• Try to avoid use redundant keywords as they won't help you narrow down your search.
• Use a few keywords, rather than just one or two, to help you find exactly what you're looking for.
• Check the spelling of the words in your search.

Conclusion

Searching the Internet may seem like a really easy thing to do, but if your searching for something specific it can get a little difficult. For example, you could search for something and there's a good chance the page you want will be in the results, but it will be surrounded by a bunch of non-relevant pages as well. Choosing a browser and a good search engine are the first steps in searching the Internet. There are strategies you can use to help find what your looking for. Using specific keywords or phrases can help weed out some pages that you have no desire in looking at while leaving you with pages with more relevant information about the topic you want. After learning a few tricks about searching the Internet you will be able to find exactly what you're looking for as fast as possible.

Further Reading

http://www.internettutorials.net/
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-CA/windows-vista/Tips-for-searching-the-Internet

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