Category - Internet
Topic - Web Searches
Issue - Special features on search engines Google and Yahoo
Tiptoid -
Recently one night after dinner, Alex and I decided to work together on our Civics project. We needed to do some research so, of course, we got on the Internet and connected to the Google search engine. We typed in some words in the search box, but none of the information that came up related specifically enough to our project questions! We were frustrated. Our project was due the next day, and we didn't have any more time to waste.
Then we remembered an article we read in our Multimedia Productions class. It is called "A Guide to Search Engine Features"* from The Wall Street Journal, and it included some tips for making the most of web searches.
Here are some of those shortcuts to getting information results you can use, and getting them fast!
1 - Limit your search to two or three words.
2 - Surround your search terms in quotation marks when searching an exact word or phrase.
3 - Google and Yahoo search for the words exactly as you enter them. If you enter two words together, they will search only in places where those two words appear, and in the order you entered them. Decide if that is what you want.
4 - To sharpen your search, follow one search term with a space, then a "+" sign, followed by the topic you want. (e.g. Washington +The White House will focus on information on The White House).
5 - You can exclude certain topics from your search as well. Type in your search term, put a space, and then a “-“ sign, followed by the topic you want to exclude. (e.g. Washington -The White House will exclude information on the White House).
There are many other features offered on both Google and Yahoo search engines. Here are a few.
- enter a stock symbol to get the company name and a price chart, right at the top of the results page.
- at Google, type in a U.S. street address and you will see a map of the location.
- at Yahoo, type in your city name and you will get your local weather conditions; type in another city name and you will get the current weather conditions there.
- at Google, type in a land line telephone number in the search box, and you will get the name and address of the person who lives at that residence.
These web search tips have helped us enormously. Alex and I now get the information we need much faster. And efficiency has helped us get better grades on our projects. So take our advice. Try these tips when you use Google and Yahoo.
*excerpts from "What You Should Know About Web Searches" from The Wall Street Journal December 28, 2005
Glossary -
Search Engine - A remotely accessible program that lets you do the keyword searches for information on the Internet. There are several types of search engines. The search may include titles of documents, URLs, headers, or the full text.
Find Out More - http://www.google.com and http://www.yahoo.com
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Submitted by - Andrew Embree and Alex Rock
Site Manager - Andrew An
May 2006