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INSET Session
Using the Internet for Research
1. Effective Searching
Using a Library, we employ familiar search strategies: going to the right room,
looking on the correct shelf, consulting the catalogue to find the reference
number. This becomes second-nature to a regular library user. It is important to
develop search strategies to access information on the Internet. A caveat: not
everything is on the Internet – if you search well and come up with nothing,
abandon it and go to the Library. Some things are exceptionally well-supported
on the Internet, e.g. ICT stuff, personal enthusiasms of collectors and so on.
Other areas are hardly there at all…
Search engines are a vital tool for finding information, e.g. Google, Alltheweb, Yahoo You can find out how search engines operate, what new developments are taking place, and comparative listings of search engines at www.searchenginewatch.com In the following examples I'll be using Google.
Sample searches
I want to find some discussion questions on Philip Pullman's 'Northern Lights' for my reading group. I start to use Google ( www.google.com )
Putting in
Northern Lights – 1570000 results
(presumably all occurrences of 'lights' and 'Northern' have been returned, so try the phrase in speech marks...
"Northern Lights" – 722000
Adding the author's name as a keyword should narrow it down...
"Northern Lights" Pullman – 9830 (Some search engines require +Pullman or AND Pullman, but Google assumes that is what you mean.)
Further keywords reduce the results further:
"Northern Lights" Pullman review – 2770
So I put in the following combination of words and phrases expecting good results...
"Northern Lights" Pullman “book group” questions – 19
Unfortunately, this leads to a blind alley – there are no discussion questions. Back to the drawing board. I discovered gradually that in America this book is called ‘The Golden Compass’ so refined the search…
"The Golden Compass" Pullman "reading group" questions – 190* Best results!
"The Golden Compass" Pullman "reading groups" questions – 27 (but poorer information)
"The Golden Compass" Pullman "book groups" questions – 9
"The Golden Compass" Pullman "book group" questions – 58
Can you see why the first search list produced the best results?