Searching the Web

Now let's try using Google, an index-based search engine. Once again, enter "San Francisco cable cars" in the search box. The Google search results in millions of documents that match the search terms. The reason for this enormous list is that Google turns up every document that contains the words "San," "Francisco," "cable," and "cars."

To search for documents that contain just this phrase, use quotation marks around the terms ("San Francisco cable cars"). Doing this results in about 46,000 documents. Fortunately, Google smartly ranks sites in order of relevancy and popularity, so the first few have information about schedules.

But even better, try entering "San Francisco cable car schedule". Bingo! Now the list includes just a few sites. As you can see, the more specific you can be with your search query, the more focused the results.

Ask uses a technology called natural language query, a fancy way of saying that you can ask your question in plain English. By typing a question like "What is the San Francisco cable car schedule?" you get a list of related pages. Once again, you will have to go to the site, but in this case, it's a no-brainer as one of the choices is "San Francisco Municipal Railway."

Bear in mind that websites tend to change often. These changes are not always reflected in the search engine database, particularly for directories. Typically, websites are registered with search engines when they first go online. After that, changes are not reported generally. To find the most recent information, your best bet is a search engine that use Web-indexing robots, software that constantly searches the Internet, recording additions and changes.

Refining Your Search

Regardless of which search engine you use, it pays to find out the particulars of how it works. Take the time to read the search tips on the site. For instance, how does the engine handle searches that include more than one word? Most engines, but not all, return results that include any of the words. Because there is so much information online, usually you will want to limit the scope of your searches. How do you do this? This is a good point to digress to talk about Boolean operators.

The English mathematician George Boole developed an algebra of logic that has become the basis for computer database searches. Boolean logic uses words called operators to determine whether a statement is true or false. The most common operators are AND, OR and NOT. These three little words can be enormously helpful when doing online searches. A few examples show why.

Searching...	Results in...
cable AND car	Documents with both words
cable OR car	The greatest amount of matches; documents with either word
cable NOT car	Documents about cable, but not about cable cars; a good way to limit the search.

The exact syntax each engine uses varies, so familiarize yourself with each one's unique properties.

Metasearches

Rather than search each directory or index individually, you can submit your query simultaneously to multiple search engines by doing a metasearch.

The Big Four

Whether you want to search for information about cable cars, investments or any other subject, remember, all search tools are not alike. Each uses a slightly different methodology, so your results will vary. You may not always find what you're looking for on the first try or with a particular engine. Here are four favorites:

1.Ask
2.Bing
3.Google
4.Yahoo!

A final word of advice. The Internet may not be the best place to find certain information. While it abounds with computer-related subjects, it is not as good for historical information. The telephone and a sharp reference librarian may still be your best bet.

Last update: Jan 11, 2011