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Searching Internet
Pre-Google Searching
Reasons People Search
Information Retrieval Services
Interpreting Search Results
Information Search Strategies
Search Engine Conclusion
Search Engine Directories
Directories Create Catalogs
Engine Creates Database
Search Engine Databases
Directory Conclusion
Applied Searching
Simple Queries
Boolean Operator Search
Refining Searches
Search Result Restrictions
Search Site Support
SE Resuls Rank
Searching Techniques
Further Search Topics
Searching Web Resources
International Language SiteSearching
Specialized Search Services
Search Queries - Exercise
Objective:
Locate recipes in a search engine's database by using a keyword search query.
Scoring
This exercise is not scored. It is an opportunity for you to check your understanding of the material covered in the preceding lesson. When you are finished, click the
Submit
button to view the suggested results.
Background/overview
You would expect, from our discussions, to find many more matches in the search engine sites' databases. But will these matches be as good as the hand-selected entries in the directories' databases? Let us find out by running the same search for French onion soup with several single search engines and a metasearch engine.
Instructions
Type the words
French onion soup
into the search query input area of each of the search engines. Notice whether any of them display drop-down menus, checkboxes, or buttons that let you choose among combinations such as "all the words," "any of the words," or "exact phrase." The next module discusses the difference these make to your searches; for now, select "all the words" if you are given a choice.
Take note of the approximate number of matches that each search returns. Also look at the first dozen or so matches, which should be the best matches that the search service can return. Do you see repeaters in the top spots from search to search?
Because this exercise is not scored, you may, if you choose, substitute a search query on a topic that is related to your day-to-day work. Use the same topic that you used in the directory search by category.
Here are links to the search engines and metasearch engine you will use:
search.yahoo.com/
Google
HotBot.com
Start Page
When you are finished, click the
Submit
button to view the suggested results.