As you know, there are
millions of sites on the World Wide Web. With a click of the
mouse, a search engine sorts through the holdings and lists the sites
it thinks you want. What it brings to you depends on the
commands you use.
More Words bring Better Results
Single words bring results, but who has time to read through hundreds
of sites? Refining your search, or adding other words bring
fewer results that are more specific to your needs. Adding more
words to your search bring fewer results. See how it
works. (Check the help screen of your of your search engine to
see if you need quotes or ( ) around your words.)
Which search engine are you using?
Let's say your instructor tells you to find out whether the element
mercury is toxic. Type in mercury and hit the enter key.
How many web pages were retrieved?
Look at the descriptions and determine what
the articles are about? Do they address your question?
Now add another word. Type in
mercury element.
How many Web pages were retrieved?
Look over the first few sites. What are
they about?
Now add another word. Type in
mercury element toxic.
How many Web How many Web pages were retrieved?
Look over the first few sites. What are
they about?
Compare the number of web pages
retrieved for the three searches. What do they tell you about
how the search engine works?
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