|
|
Finding Internet Resources
|
|
Searching the Web
Usually, the best way to find information on the Web is to use finding
tools on the Web itself. There are numerous print directories published,
and these can be useful -- especially for finding important sites for a
particular discipline. It is important to remember, however, that the Web
is constantly growing and changing; printed guides are out of date the
day they are published.
There are two categories of finding tools on the Web that allow
you to search for Internet resources: browsing tools and search engines
(keyword searching tools). Some tools are a combination of both.
Browsing tools
Browsing tools organize Internet resources by subject categories and subcategories.
You would use one of these tools if you want to see what resources are
available for a particular discipline.
For instance, Yahoo, a popular browsing tool, lists, among its
categories, SOCIETY AND CULTURE. If you click on this category, ENVIRONMENT
AND NATURE appears as one of the subcategories. If you click on this subcategory,
you will see a subcategory OZONE DEPLETION. Clicking on OZONE DEPLETION
gives you a list of links to Web sites that are related to this subject.
Browsing tools to try
-
Yahoo
Yahoo is one of those sites that combines browsing and keyword searching.
You can find a category that interests you and then perform a keyword search
that can be restricted to that category. For instance, if you click on
the category TELECOMMUNICATIONS and then on the subcategory COMPANIES you
can then decide to do a keyword search and restrict the search to the LOCAL
SERVICES category.
Search engines
Search engines allow Internet users to do keyword searches on the Web.
It is important to remember that when you use these tools, you are searching
a vast number of Web pages, and usually you are searching the entire contents
of these pages. This increa ses the likelihood that words will be found
out of context, and that you will retrieve links to Web sites that are
not relevant to your needs. Search engines work best when used to search
very specific terms or phrases that are unlikely to appear out of context
on a page.
Another important point to keep in mind about search engines is
that there is a considerable variation in the way they work and the search
options they offer. For instance, the databases of Web pages that these
tools search are created in different ways. Therefore, you may get very
different results from one search engine to the next. Try to learn as much
as you can about how the different search engines work and use help screens
to find out what options they offer. The following three sites compare
the most popular search engines:
Features to watch for:
-
Boolean searching
Some search engines allow you to construct search statements using
Boolean operators.
-
Exact phrase searching
Some search engines allow you to search for exact phrases, usually
by using quotation marks around the phrase (eg. "United Nations Environment
Program")
-
Truncation
Some search engines allow you to truncate, often by placing an * or
$ at the end of the root (eg., fish* will retrieve fish, fishing, fisheries,
etc.). Other search engines will automatically truncate search terms (not
necessarily a good thing if you wan t to retrieve just the word "fish."
-
Guaranteed matching
With some search engines, placing a + before a search term will guarantee
that this term will occur in all retrieved links.
Search engines to try
Often, when you click on a link
in a search result list, a search term will not be evident (i.e., it might
be buried somewhere in the page). Use the FIND feature of you Web browser
to locate the term.
For more information about
Internet searching, see Ross Tyner's excellent Web publication Sink
or Swim: Internet Search Tools & Techniques .
Bookmarks
Most Web browsers allow you to set up bookmarks for favorite sites. Once
you have set up a bookmark, you can instantly access the site anytime you
want without having to remember the site's URL (Universal Resource Locator),
or address. It is a good idea to set up bookmarks for your favorite browsing
and keyword searching tools.
To set up a bookmark with Netscape:
-
When you connect to a site that you like, click on BOOKMARK at the top
of the screen.
-
Click on ADD BOOKMARK.
-
The name of the site is added to your list of bookmarks.
Next time you want to access the site, just click on BOOKMARK, and then
click on the name of the site.