Beyond Googling : Searching the Web and

Databases EffectivelyN. Mellendorf, Librarian

Maine South High School Library Resource Center

Park Ridge, Illinois

How Do Search Engines Work?

Unlike our subscription databases, many search engines do not organize

their results by subject, content or relevance.

Keyword Searching Any word on a page Not the subject or content of a page Results: lots of irrelevant stuff

Ranking How often a keyword occurs How often someone links to a page Paid placement listings

The Invisible Web Google indexes only 20% of the “visible” web Dynamic vs. Static web pages Database pages or Password protected pages

N. Mellendorf, Librarian. Maine South High School Library Resource Center. 2010.

Tip #1: Review Your Keywords

Find synonyms Example: handicapped or disabled

Try alternate spellings Theater or theatre

Use complete labels NRA or National Rifle Association

Avoid slang 24/7 rule vs. zero tolerance policy

N. Mellendorf, Librarian. Maine South High School Library Resource Center. 2010.

Tip #2: Find Terms that are Broader, Narrower, or Related

Topic Example – Soccer Broader Terms

Ball Games Sports

Narrower Terms Professional Soccer Women’s Soccer Soccer Offense

Related Terms Football Soccer Coaches Soccer Equipment

Use sidebar features and other hyperlinked words found in your search results to explore these keywords and improve your results.

N. Mellendorf, Librarian. Maine South High School Library Resource Center. 2010.

Tip #3: Improve Your “Search String”

Use “Quotes” for an exact phrase Use AND to require all search terms

Television and Violence Use NOT to exclude a search term

Mercury NOT planet Combine terms – a Boolean search

“Steroids” and “Football” not “Baseball” Natural language

Do not use natural or “question” language unless the database or search engine is designed to understand it. Ask.com (formerly Ask Jeeves) is an example of a natural language search engine.

Subject Headings vs. Keywords A subject heading is the topic of an entire article A keyword is simply the occurrence of a particular word in an

article Be careful to note whether you are searching by Subject Headings

or Keywords

N. Mellendorf, Librarian. Maine South High School Library Resource Center. 2010.

Tip #4: Search by Domains and for Specific File Types

Domains -- one type of site.edu - a college/university.gov - a government site.org – an organization.com – a business

Search example: mythology +site:edu

File types – one formatPDF -- Adobe PDF documentxls - Excel documentppt - PowerPoint documentdoc - Word document

Search example: “evaluating web” +filetype:ppt

N. Mellendorf, Librarian. Maine South High School Library Resource Center. 2010.

Tip #5: Search the Invisible Web: Directories, Visual Search Engines,

and Content-Specific Search Engines

Narrow your search from a broad category

See how topics within a specific area are related

May suggest new terms that are useful in conducting a search

May be subject or organization specific

N. Mellendorf, Librarian. Maine South High School Library Resource Center. 2010.

Tip #6: Search the Invisible Web:Googling Deep

Google Scholar Peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts, and

other scholarly literature. Caveat: May lead to sources from password protected sites.

Google Books Google Book Search matches your search terms—you

see “Book Results.” These links will lead you to a library or online store where you may borrow or purchase the books. You may be able to see a portion of the book online; books in the public domain (no longer under copyright) may be completely available for use.

N. Mellendorf, Librarian. Maine South High School Library Resource Center. 2010.

Tip #7: Search the Invisible Web:ipl2: Internet Public Library

Library and Information Science professionals from a consortium of colleges and universities create and maintain the information collections of information.

Selection criteria: availability, credibility, authorship, external links, legality

Evaluative criteria: authority, scope and audience, content, design, function, shelf life

N. Mellendorf, Librarian. Maine South High School Library Resource Center. 2010.

Tip #8: Search the Invisible Web: INFOMINE

“INFOMINE is a virtual library of Internet resources relevant to faculty, students, and research staff at the university level. It contains useful Internet resources such as databases, electronic journals, electronic books, bulletin boards, mailing lists, online library card catalogs, articles, directories of researchers, and many other types of information.” –from About Infomine

“INFOMINE is librarian built. Librarians from the University of California, Wake Forest University, California State University, the University of Detroit - Mercy, and other universities and colleges have contributed to building INFOMINE.” –from About Infomine

N. Mellendorf, Librarian. Maine South High School Library Resource Center. 2010.

Tip #9: Try Alternative Resources

Books (Online Catalog) WebPath Express

(through Online Catalog) Other: Audio, Video, Personal Interview, Podcasts,

Blogs, Wikis, etc. Check with your teacher first about using and citing these formats!

N. Mellendorf, Librarian. Maine South High School Library Resource Center. 2010.

When to skip the Web altogether… Though Infomine and other deep Web search engines can

improve retrieval of full-text articles, subscription databases and books still provide the best coverage of proprietary information—information that someone owns and expects compensation for use.

You need full-text articles from magazines and newspapers: use a subscription library database.

You need scholarly articles from peer-reviewed and academic journals: use a subscription library database or book.

You need an in-depth, original, narrative treatment of a topic: use a book.

N. Mellendorf, Librarian. Maine South High School Library Resource Center. 2010.