Searching the Internet ItrainOnline搜索互联网itrainonline.pptVIP

Searching the Internet MMTK Project Unit developed by Anna Feldman, for the Association for Progressive Communications Overview This unit aims to enable you to: Understand more about the Internet as an environment for finding information. Explore the strengths and weaknesses of different search tools: how to pick the right one(s) for the job. Learn to use the tools appropriately: how to re-phrase your questions in a search tool-shaped way. Evaluate the information that search tools provide: how to efficiently cream off the most relevant results. Develop a strategy for building up your own well-structured bank of links for future reference: how to bypass the search tools altogether. Internet as Information Environment Lack of statistics on the amount of information on the Internet No standard indexing system No “direct” searching of other computers - access to search tools only Search tools search through limited lists of sites Information on the Internet is driven by machines, created by people Search Tools Search Engines Meta-search Engines Subject Directories Information Gateways Specialist Databases Search Engines Compiled by spiders (computer-robot programs), mechanically building database of references Matches searched-for keywords with words in full text of selected web pages Number of pages searched can vary from small number to 90% of the web Good results are as much about understanding search syntax as the scope of the engine’s coverage Good For: Precision searches, using named people or organisations, searching quickly and widely, topics which are hard to classify Not Good For: Browsing through a subject area Major Search Engines Google/ AltaVista/ alltheweb/ Meta-search Engines Skim-search several search engines at once Usually reach about 10% of results of each engine they visit Cannot perform advanced-style searches which use engine-specific syntax Good For: quick search engine results overview, doing simple searches with 1 or 2 keywords Not