SEARCHES & SEARCH ENGINES

(Updated Version of this page - 2/28/03)

L. A. “Al” Greene, Jr. Lawyer

1. Search Engines, Subject Directories & the Deep Web

by University at Albany, Laura Cohen

Network Services Librarian

Getting Started: Selecting a Tool for Your Search

A chart listing general query types and the kinds of search tools that support them

Boolean Searching on the Internet

The principles of search logic and the different manifestations of this logic on Web search engines

The Deep Web

A tutorial describing this newsworthy phenomenon: what it is, what to call it, tips for dealing with it, and how to locate its content

How to Choose a Search Engine or Directory

A chart listing numerous features and the search engines & directories that support them

Searching the Internet: Recommended Sites and Search Techniques

An extensive tutorial on the use of subject directories, search engine services, and the "deep" Web. This tutorial covers AltaVista, Ask Jeeves, BUBL LINK, HotBot, Lycos, MetaCrawler and Yahoo!

Second Generation Searching on the Web

Tips on precision searching using features available on second generation search services. This tutorial covers Google, Ixquick, Guidbeam, SurfWax and TracerLock

University of South Carolina, Beaufort,

BARE BONES 101:

"Trends, like horses, are easier to ride in the direction they are going. "

--Anonymous

2. A BASIC TUTORIAL ON SEARCHING THE WEB

INTRODUCTION

So, you're still getting those 1,670,000+ responses to your search queries on the Web, and you're still too busy to do anything about it, like reading the lengthy, and sometimes confusing, "help" screens to find out how to improve your searching techniques.

Look no further! Real help is here, in the USCB Library's BARE BONES Tutorial.

You can zip through these lessons in no time, any time. They are very short and succinct; each can be read in a few minutes. Feel free to jump in wherever you like, skip what you don't want to read, and come back whenever you need to.

The information contained in the following lessons is truly "bare bones," designed to get you started in the right direction with a minimum of time and effort. For more comprehensive and detailed help on searching the Web, consult our recommended list of sites in Lesson 17 at the end of this tutorial.

(NOTE: If you just want some quick SEARCH TIPS, skip everything else and go directly to Lesson 7.)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Lesson 1: Search Engines: a Definition

Lesson 2: Metasearchers: a Definition

Lesson 3: Subject Directories: a Definition

Lesson 4: Library Gateways and Specialized Databases: a Definition

Lesson 5: Evaluating Web Pages

Lesson 6: Creating a Search Strategy

Lesson 7: Basic Search Tips

Lesson 8: Searching with Boolean Logic and Proximity Operators

Lesson 9: Field Searching

Lesson 10: Troubleshooting

Lesson 11: All the Web (Fast): A Closer Look

Lesson 12: Alta Vista: A Closer Look

Lesson 13: Google: A Closer Look

Lesson 14: Ixquick Metasearch: A Closer Look

Lesson 15: Yahoo!: A Closer Look

Lesson 16: Final Exam

Lesson 17: Beyond "Bare Bones"

User Agreement

"Bare Bones 101" has been created by Ellen Chamberlain, Head Librarian at the University of South Carolina Beaufort campus. She is the co-author of BCK2SKOL ("Back to School"), an introductory Internet course for librarians and other serious searchers, initially offered on the Net in 1995 as a listserv, with lessons delivered to over 6,000 subscribers in 62 countries around the world.

Library Home Page Search Engines

[Search Engines] [Metasearchers] [Subject Directories] [Gateways & Databases] [Evaluating Web Pages]

[Search Strategies] [Search Tips] [Boolean Operators] [Field Searching] [Troubleshooting] [All the Web (Fast)]

[Alta Vista] [Google] [Ixquick] [Yahoo!] [Final Exam] [Beyond Bones] [User Agreement]

Links and text checked regularly. Latest update on 17 December 2002.

This tutorial was first created in January 2000 by Ellen Chamberlain, library webweaver.

URL: http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/bones.html