The search process allows a person to access the vast amount of information contained on the Web. There are many search tools available such as Google, Yahoo, Stumble-Upon, Bing, Blinx, Ask.com, and Yippy. I am most familiar with Google, Yahoo, Stumble-Upon. My preferred search engine is Google though through the Chapter 3 reading and exercises, I have become more familiar with Bing and like it. I have had trouble with Bing with advanced searches but I'll share my experiences with that in another post! One point made in the Chapter reading emphasized the importance of becoming familiar with multiple search engines to understand their specific strengths. This is a practice that I will have to adopt as currently I default to Google for search activity. I would like to become more familiar with the other search options.
To perform a search, you must develop a search query. The search query defines what you're looking for and must include at least one keyword. The keyword or keywords should be specific terms or words versus general terms. The more precise your search query, the better search results you will receive. Search keywords are entered into the search engine's search text box. For an exact search of a specific topic, the use of quotation marks is used. There are several types of searches you can do: Targeted searches which seek specific information, open-ended which seek a broader search result using a simple keyword (often used in scholarly research) and a natural language search. The natural language search is a query in the form of a statement or question. Shown below is a natural language search using the search engine Yippy.
Most people look at the first 10-20 results then enter another search. This is because millions of results can be displayed with a single search.
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