INTRODUCTION

• The Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) that piggybacks on it are so vast, so awash with information (there are estimates of 20 billion to over 100 billion web pages) that it is sometimes hard to find precisely what we want.
• We can improve our chances by choosing the right search tools and using them in reasonably sophisticated ways. But which tools should we use, and how can we best use them.
• Generally, the most effective tools for searching for specific information are Search Engines, but to successfully use them you must understand and creatively use all of the functions that they provide.

DEFINITION

• Search Engines are, generally, very large databases(electronically stored collections of data) of Web pages and other files (documents, images, audio & video files, etc.) that have been automatically located on and downloaded from the Internet.
• Search Engine databases are automatically created and indexed by software variously called:
  • Webcrawlers
  • Web robots
  • Web spiders
  • Metacrawlers
• These programs continuously request Web sites and other Internet hosts to send the contents (including graphics and other media) of individual Web pages and documents to the Search Engine.
• Automatic downloading results in very large databases of Web pages and other files, with the largest ones (such as Google and AlltheWeb) claiming billions of Web pages in their databases.
• The Search Engine database software, in most cases, indexes each and every part of the downloaded page or file, indentifying every piece of ASCII text as belonging to the title, headings, body, links, image title, and so forth.
• The Search Engines have front-end query (search and retrieval) interface that enable users to find desired information in the database. You enter the terms (names, subjects, locations, etc.), and the Search Engine returns records that contain those terms. Clicking on the link in a likely record takes the user to the original Web pages or other files.

USING SEARCH ENGINES

• Why to use a Search Engine instead of a Internet Index
  • Use search engines if you know precise terms, names, or phrases for the subject on which you want information.
  • Use a search engines because the have huge databases of downloaded web content, upwards of thousands of times the number of web pages and other files compared to the largest Internet indexes.
  • Use search engines because they offer more powerful tools for locating the information that you want.
• Why to use multiple Search Engines
  • No Search Engine covers anything but a very small fraction of the Internet.
    • There are various estimations of the number of web pages and other documents on the internet reaching over 100 billion.
    • In addition, there is what is called the "hidden" or "invisible" web, which consists of mayby a trillion or more web pages and documents, largely in databases whose contents are not directly visible to web browsers and other search tools.
  • Search Engines databases overlap each other to a large degree, but each has numerous unique web pages and other documents that the others lack.
  • Some Search Engines are actually licensed databases from such companies as Google, AltaVista, and Inktomi. Different Search Engines (and Internet Indexes as well) may only license a certain amount of resources from the other Search Engine vendors.
  • Search Engines have varying ranges of search functionality.
• Use all the capabilities of the Search Engines
  • Most Search Engines have some degree of sophisticated search functionality, such as Booleans, phrase searching, truncation, etc.
  • You can better target your search if:
    • Use this functionality appropriately.
    • Think about the probable manner (language, structure, content) in which different people, groups, or organizations would put various kinds of information online.
  • DOWNLOAD & USE THE HELP PAGES!!!!!!!!

EXAMPLES OF MAJOR SEARCH ENGINES (More on the Selecting Search Engines web page)

AltaVista	www.altavista.com
All the Web	alltheweb.com/advanced
Google - Advanced	www.google.com/advanced_search
Teoma	www.teoma.com
WiseNut - WiseSearch	www.wisenut.com/WiseSearch/

INDEXES OF SEARCH ENGINES

• Best Search Tools Page
  • From InfoPeople, a not-for-profit information project.
  • www.infopeople.org/search/tools.html
• Search Links from Search Engine Watch
  • searchenginewatch.com/links/
• Search.com
  • www.search.com
• SearchEngines.com
  • Indexes of Search Engines around the world
  • http://www.searchengines.com/searchengine_listings.html
• Kid's Search Tools
  • www.rcls.org/ksearch.htm

SEARCH ENGINE TERMS/GLOSSARIES

• Search Engine Terms
  • http://www.cadenza.org/search_engine_terms/
• Searchenginewatch Glossary
  • http://searchenginewatch.com/facts/glossary.html
• Search Engine Showdown Glossary
  • http://www.searchengineshowdown.com/glossary.html
• Glossary of Internet & Web Jargon
  • http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Glossary.html