WEB SEARCH
Some Ways Web Search Differs from Searching Online Periodical Databases:
| Web Search Engines | Online Periodical Databases |
| Search for words | May search words and subjects (use thesaurus) |
| No human intervention (Internet is too vast with rapid change) | Human intervention |
| Describe resources | May analyze content |
| Use relevance ranking for listing results | May list chronologically |
Web Search Engines Vary:
- By what they search
» URL or
» Title or
» First lines of a document or
» Whole document
- By how they search
» Search engines do not search the entire web—it’s too vast
» They cover different areas of the web; therefore, results vary
» Some comb the web daily, some weekly, some monthly.
- By where they search
» Do they search the web?
» Do they search Usenet Netnews?
- By how results are displayed
» They display results differently. Find one that gives results in an understandable, meaningful way.
» For example, can you tell if a site looks relevant before linking to it?
- By how you can search
» Can you do a detailed search that brings relevant results?
» What are the defaults? What are the options?
Some Pointers:
- Check the help screens.
- Is there an advanced search screen?
- Try using more than one search engine.
- Keep searches simple. Be creative.
- Some rules transfer to other search engines.
- Search rules change.
Guide Developed by:
Doreen Harwood, Business Librarian
email: dharwood@uwb.eduURL: http://library.uwb.edu/guides/BusWeb/BusWebGuidelines SearchEngines.htm
Updated: 04/03/2007