 |
Introduction to Search Engines |
|
1. Launch the computer's Web browser (usually by double clicking the browser icon on the
desktop).
2. In the space labeled "Location," type in the following URL (Universal Resource
Locator, i.e., the address of the Web Site):
www.yahoo.com
3. We are going to begin by doing a SAMPLE BROAD-BASED SEARCH using
Yahoo!, a Web directory. In the space at the top of the page to the left of the
"Search" button, type in the phrase "Admissions Offices." Then click
the "Search" button.
4. Notice the way in which the results have been divided and prioritized.
If you have chosen your word or phrase wisely, what you are searching for should appear
as your first choice. Click on the phrase "College Admissions Offices" in the first entry under
"Yahoo! Category Matches." You have now been transported to a page which contains links
to the Admissions Offices at virtually every major four-year college and university
in the United States. You are now in a position to contact the Admissions Office
at those institutions in which you have a strong interest.
5. As a second demonstration, let us try a NARROWING SEARCH.
I recommend beginning such a search with Google. Let's assume
that you are interested in learning more about the Emancipation Proclamation and,
in particular, the impact of the proclamation on the recruitment of blacks as
soldiers in the Union army during the Civil War. You should begin by going to
http://google.com and typing
the phrase "emancipation proclamation" into the space above the "Google Search"
button. By placing quotation marks around the phrase, you will be searching only
for that exact phrase, an important advantage as you proceed to narrow your search.
6. Click on the button marked "Google Search".
7. Google found 37,900 pages containing the phrase "emancipation proclamation."
8. Next go to the bottom of the page and click on the link entitled
"Search within results" to the right of the "Google Search" button.
When the blank "Search within results" box appears on
your screen, type in the phrase "black soldier". Then click the
"Search within results" button to the right.
9. Google found 199 Web pages and other sites on the Internet (including our
own page) containing both the
phrase "emancipation proclamation" AND the phrase "black soldier." Again,
keep in mind that those pages judged most relevant to your search have been listed
first.
10. If, after exploring some or all of these 199 Web pages, you decide that you
wish to focus on the issue of the pay received by black soldiers, you might try
narrowing your search still further by going to the bottom of your Google page
and clicking on the link entitled "Search within results."
Then, in the blank "Search within results" box that
appears on your screen,
type in the word "pay".
Then click the "Search within results" button to the right.
11. Google found 76 Web pages (including our own) for you to explore.
When you have completed this "Introduction to Search
Engines, you may proceed to the next exercise, an
Introduction to Web Site Evaluation.