Search Engine Strategies... Beyond Yahoo and Google Linda J. Goff, Head, Instructional Services CSUS Library Fall, 2004 Presented by LJG 8/11/04

Search Engine Strategies

. . . Beyond Yahoo and Google

Linda J. Goff,

Head, Instructional ServicesCSUS Library

Fall, 2004

Presented by

LJG 8/11/04

CSUS Library InstructionFall 2004

Today’s Agenda

Web Structure, Jargon & definitions.

How search engines think and work.

Picking the right web search tool.

Searching techniques & tips.

Evaluating your sources - thinking critically about information.

Demonstration.


Glossary

bloggingbrowsercachecookieshtmlhttphypertext link

MetasearchInvisible Webphishingportal sitesSacLinktelnetURL


What is the World Wide Web?

The World Wide Web (WWW) is a global

interactive, dynamic, cross-platform, graphical

hypertext information system that runs on the

Internet.


The Web is Growing Exponentially

Source: http://www.nua.ie/surveys/how_many_online/

Over 10% of World is connected!

Internet users estimated to be 605.60 million as of September 2002.


3 Main Types of Search Tools:...

Web DirectoryWeb Directory - - HierarchicalHierarchical - organized in a classification system.Standard Search EngineStandard Search Engine – uses mathematical algorithms and boolean searches for keyword searchesExpert PagesExpert Pages – reviewed list.


Expert PagesInfomine - Scholarly Internet Resource

Collection http://infomine.ucr.edu/

Librarians Index to the Internet

Information You Can Trust http://lii.org/

The WWW Virtual Library

http://www.vlib.org

CSUS Librarian Guides:

http://library.csus.edu/guides/


Now Web search tools can ...

Search multiple search engines simultaneously.

Find sites that answer natural language questions.

Ranks sites by how many links have been made to them.

Sorts matches into folders by categories.

Have advanced searching features

Or - a combination of the above.


Metasearch engines

Search simultaneously across multiple search engines and displays top sites in each:– Dogpile.com– Vivisimo.com

Warning: Some now charge for higher listings, e.g., Overture


Natural Language Search

Type your questions in Natural Language, e.g., AskJeeves.com

Analyzes words, grammar and syntax, and uses "templatics" to look for patterns in the way questions are asked.

Jeeves responds with one or more closely related questions that it already knows the answer to.

Search Engines

Part 2

How SearchEngines Thinkand Work


Most search engines and databases use Boolean

Operators to create search statements, e.g.

(domestic or family) and (violence not sexual abuse)

Boolean OperatorsAND requires both terms to appear in the items that are retrieved.

OR requires either term to appear in the items that are retrieved.

NOT excludes a term.

Boolean Search Strategy

bbaa

ccaa

bbdd

a a ANDAND b b

a a OROR cc

b b NOTNOT dd

familyfamily and and violenceviolence

family family or or domesticdomestic

violence violence not not sexual abuse sexual abuse bb


What Search Engines Don’t Search

‘Bots only crawl the visible web which is only about 20% of everything that is on the Internet.

They don’t look at the “Deep Web”, or “The Invisible Web.”


Invisible Web contains

Commercial databases that charge a fee, e.g., library research databases of periodical articles.Sites that require membership or a login. Searchable pages such as catalogs, phone books or directories, e.g.AMA Physician Search.


Library Databases AccessAuthentication automatic for users with Web access via CSUS and SacLink.CSUS users with other Internet Service Providers (AOL, Prodigy etc.) must create a P.I.N. in EUREKA for authentication to access Library databases.To connect from off campus go to http://www.lib.csus.edu/databases/help/page.


Choose based on your Information Need

Try Noodle Tools: http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html


Search Engine ComparisonsMost have built-in search tips or help screens.Boolean operators, phrase searching and other limiters are often available.Be aware! Some now charge for higher page placement e.g, Overture.


Handout

See “Searching the Web” handout of special search features and URLs for most popular search engines.

http://libweb.uoregon.edu/guides/searchweb/srchweb-info.html

World WideWeb

Part 3

Search Tips & Strategies

Reading Parts of the URL http://www.lib.csus.edu/databases/

The part before the colon is the access method or protocol, (hypertext transfer protocol).The part after the double slashes is the net address or domain name of the computer where the resource is located.

The directory path and filename come after the next slash.

Common Codes in Domain Nameseduedu - higher educationcomcom - commercial firms (+22 million)govgov - government agenciesmilmil - military (US)orgorg - general noncommercial organizations

net net - computer networksintint - international organizationsState or CountryState or Country of origin:– ukuk (United

Kingdom)– caca (Canada)– ca.usca.us

(California. United States)


New Suffixes added by ICANN, effective Spring 2002

.info (anyone)

.biz (business)

.name (individuals).pro (professionals)

.museum (accredited)

.aero (Airtransport industry).coop (business cooperatives)Kids.us (Content and technology restrictions)


Think critically about the information you find on the Web...

Anybody can publish anything on the Web.

There are no editors and no central authorities.

There are no guarantees that the site you find will be there next time you look.


Questions you should ask when evaluating a Web page:

Who is the author or sponsor?

What authority/expertise do they have?

What is the purpose/scope of the page?

Is it current? When was it last updated?

How complete and accurate is the information? Does it have a bias?

How usable is it? Do the the links work?


You must... Examine assumptions and possible biases.

Distinguish between fact and opinion.

Compare and contrast related pieces of information from other sources (print and online).


Bogus sites proliferate

POP! the First Human Male Pregnancy – http://www.malepregnancy.com

Dihydrogen Monoxide Research– http://www.dhmo.org/

Clones-R-Us– http://www.d-b.net/dti/

http://www.malepregnancy.com/

http://www.dhmo.org/


Sites need to be examined carefully and compared

Martin Luther King Jr. – A Historical Examination– http://www.mlking.org

The King Center http://web.archive.org/web/20010208160923/http://thekingcenter.org/– http://www.thekingcenter.com/

http://www.mlking.org/

http://www.thekingcenter.com/


Web Searching TipsUse unique words or phrases.

Check spelling !

Use synonyms or multiple spellings (e.g., marijuana marihuana)

Try more than one search engine.

Use words like “research” or “policy” to find more scholarly sites.

Use domain limit feature e.g., Domain:edu or domain:gov

Citing Electronic Sources

Look for it on the Library Home Page under Databases and

Periodical Indexes. Look on the left for Guides For General & News and click on Citing Electronic Sources.

The URL is...http://www.lib.csus.edu/guides/budge/eography.htm

.

http://www.lib.csus.edu/guides/budge/eography.htm

http://www.lib.csus.edu/guides/budge/eography.htm


WARNINGCon artists and scams are proliferating on the Web.Don’t use your credit card number unless you are assured of a secure system.Don’t download unfamiliar software.Don’t give out personal information.


Browser Configuration Tips

Clear the memory cachememory cache before you begin a search session. It will speed up your response time.

Use the following path for I.E.: Tools -> Internet Options -> Delete Files. For Netscape use : Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Cache

Delete CookiesCookies at the same screen.


Shortcuts

Use BookmarksBookmarks or or FavoritesFavorites Use GoGo from the pull-down menus instead of the BackBack button or use the HistoryHistory or right mouse button.Use the StopStop and ReloadReload buttons if loading a document takes too long.CTRL ALT DELCTRL ALT DEL will bring up Windows 2000 Task Manager and you can close the browser if it is not responding.

World WideWeb

Part 4

Popular Search Engines


US Digital Media Universe Audience ReachHome & Work UsersJanuary 2003

KEY: GG=Google, YH=Yahoo, MSN=MSN, AOL=AOL, AJ=Ask Jeeves,OVR=Overture (GoTo), IS=InfoSpace, NS=Netscape, AV=AltaVista,LY=Lycos, ELINK=EarthLink.com, LS=LookSmart,

http://searchenginewatch.com/reports/netratings.html


Billions Of Textual DocumentsIndexed as of Sept 2, 2003

KEY: GG=Google ATW=AllTheWeb,

INK=Inktomi, AV=AltaVista,

TMA=Teoma.

Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/reports/article.php/2156481


There are specialized search engines for almost every topic

For a list of over 3,000 search engines go to Search Engine Guide:http://www.searchengineguide.comFor detailed information aimed at search professionals try SearchEngineWatch:http://www.searchenginewatch.com


Most Popular Search Engines

All the Web, AltaVista, Gigablast, Ask Jeeves, Dogpile, Google, HotBot, Metacrawler, LookSmart, Lycos, MSN Search, Netscape Search, Teoma, WiseNut and Yahoo!

(Source: SearchEngineWatch.com)


Google.com

Result rankings are based on the number of links made to the site from other web pages.Give you sites that web page creators have “voted” for with their links.An .edu link counts more than one from a .com page.


Google.com

Most popular search engine & searches greatest number of pages (3.3 million)

Special features include Advanced search, Image, Froogle, Blogger, Google Catalogs etc.


Vivisimo.com

Queries one or more web search engines (Metasearch).

Clusters Documents into groups based on this information.

Groups the documents Orders the groups and the documents within each group.

Displays the hierarchical categories.


Yahoo.com

Originated “Directory” format to organize sites by subject and subheadings.

Can personalize: “My Yahoo”.

Geographic versions “Get Local.”


Teoma.com

Results – ranked list.

Refine – suggestions to narrow your search.

Resources – link collections from experts to enthusiasts.

Watch out for “Sponsored” page results – paid listings.


Hotbot.com

Advanced searching in Hotbot and other search engines lets you limit by: – Language– Domain– Region– Date– Content etc.


Alltheweb.com

Indexes 3.15 billion pages (almost as many as Google).

You can customized your preferences.

Language translator and language settings.


This PowerPoint presentation was prepared by:

Linda J. Goff Head, Instructional Services

University LibraryCalifornia State University,

[email protected]

http://www.lib.csus.edu/services/instruction/indiv/

LJG:2/16/2004


Search Engine Comparison

Always try more than one!

http://www.llrx.com/features/searchenginechart.htm
