- Whatever search engine you choose, take the time to learn and use the Advanced Search tools—very cool precision information retrieval (IR) functions that are different for each search engine and can drastically affect the usefulness of the results your search retrieves.
- Use the right kind of search engine for your needs:
- Keyword search (like Google): Use this when you know exactly what you are looking for and use the Advanced Search tools, such as Boolean operators, to narrow and broaden your search.
- Directories (like Yahoo!): Use this when you don’t know much about your topic and need to learn what it consists of. Divides major topics into smaller categories that you can browse to narrow down what you specifically need.
- Metasearch (like Mamma, Dogpile, and Clusty): Use this to search among multiple keyword search engines at one time; a great time saver, and each has its own specialized kind of results display.
- Remember that search engines can’t see everything on the Internet—only what is directly accessible on the “surface” of the Web, things that have their own URL addresses. What they can’t see are the documents that live in Web-based databases as well as Internet locations not accessible from the Web, and often, this is where good primary-source information is located. This is called the deep Web, and you may need the help of a professional librarian to locate information stored there. It’s tricky, but it’s fun.
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