Simple Search Notation

Every search engine works on similar (but not identical) principles.  In general this works as follows:

1.      Type one or more descriptive keywords into the search window, and the search engine will return a list of links to online resources that contain one or more of the keywords on your list.

2.      Put two or more keywords in between "inverted commas" to turn your search terms into a phrase.  The search engine will return a list of links to online resources that include the exact phrase you specified. 

3.      In a list of two or more keywords, put a + sign in front of a keyword or phrase to mean this particular item must be present.  The search engine will return a list of links to online resources that contain this word plus zero or more of the other words you've specified. 

4.      In a list of two or more keywords, put a - sign in front of a keyword or phrase to mean that any pages with this particular item must be rejected. The search engine will return a list of links to online resources that contain one or more of the other words you've specified, but not any that contain the word you've indicated must be ignored . 

A Worked Example

Let's say you're looking for information about Siamese cats.  Although Siamese should start with a capital letter, be careful using the upper and lower case.  When you use lowercase text, many search engines will return links to pages including either uppercase or lowercase results. When you use uppercase text however, the search service may think you are looking for a proper noun and will only return links to pages with the term in uppercase results.

Stick to the general lower case, and enter the keywords siamese cat, like this:

	siamese cat		Search

 

The search engine will return a list of documents with:

·        Both these words

·        Only documents with just one of the two keywords

These results will probably be organised in the following order:

1)      All resources containing both keywords

2)      All resources containing the word siamese

3)      All resources containing the word cat

Let's face it, it's a bit clumsy and you're bound to have zillions of results returned.  You can narrow these down by telling the programme you only want to see lists of resources that contain both words.  You do this by putting a + in front of each word,

	+siamese +cat"		Search

 

Now the search engine will only return links to documents with both keywords.  These keywords may be next to each other, or sentences apart.  If you like, you can search for the phrase,

	"siamese cat"		Search

 

This will ensure the search engine returns a list of links to pages that include this phrase exactly as shown.  In this case, this may not be the best option.  Siamese cat lovers may use the phrase, however, it is also likely that entire pages will simply refer to "Siamese", with the word "cat" being understood.

Suppose that many of the resources you visit are just adverts with no other information.  You note that most of these contain the phrase "for sale".  There's good news: you can tell the programme you want all the resources with siamese and cat but none with the phrase "for sale" by entering this:

	+siamese +cat  -"for sale"		Search

 

The minus sign means "don't include".  The use of inverted commas tells the programme to look for an exact phrase. 

If what you have read about the habits of Siamese cats interests you so much that you want to adopt one, however, search for +siamese +cat +"for sale". 

	+siamese +cat  +"for sale"		Search

 

This will lead to adverts posted by people trying to sell Siamese cats.

For more information about searching with keywords go to http://www.lepak.com and click on the image of this book.

Boolean Logic

Boolean Logic allows you to make a search more specific.  You link keywords with Boolean Logic words AND, OR, AND NOT or NEAR.

AND -        Finds only documents containing all of the specified words or phrases.

OR -           Finds documents containing at least one of the specified words or phrases.

AND NOT - Excludes documents containing the specified word or phrase.

NEAR - Finds documents containing specified keywords placed near to each other on the page.

A Worked Example

One search facility that is well known to researchers is Advanced Alta Vista search service.  This service changes regularly in look and feel, yet retains much of its versatility.  For this example, visit http://www.altavista.com and click on Advanced Search.  Bookmark this page.

Suppose you want to read up on Internet security.  Using the keywords internet and security together with Boolean logic search for:

	internet AND security		Search

 

to find resources with both these words. Alta Vista returns results that show there are thousands of resources that have both these words.  You can check each one and you will always find both these words listed.

A closer look at the first results shows that Alta Vista sometimes puts in one or two Paid Placements at the top of the search results page.  Occasionally these are useful.  Read the write-up but be prepared to skip to the next result returned.

Looking for pages with both these words hasn't given us the results we were looking for.  Why not?  Because we are not really looking for two separate words, we are looking for a phrase.

Luckily, AltaVista allows us to search for phrases. Put in "internet security" like this:

	"internet security"		Search

 

Now we have a fewer number of links to investigate, however, from the descriptive phrases it looks as though these results are a bit more appropriate.

You read through some of the information and decide that really you are just interested in the internet security resources that discuss Asia.  It's time to refine your results.  Enter the phrase "internet security" AND asia. 

	"internet security" AND asia		Search

 

Click on Search.  Results returned will be fewer, or refined.  However, you find that there are a lot of adverts from consultants who are advertising their skills, but not necessarily giving away much information.  You decide to weed out these consultants.

			Search
	"internet security" AND asia AND NOT consultant

 

This search would give you resources that discuss internet security in Asia but resources offered by consultants would be screened out.

Using the Boolean term NEAR is also useful.  Cyber-stalking for example, is not really an internet security issue, but a security issue that is related to the internet.  If you are looking for relevant documents you could try,

	Internet NEAR security		Search

 

This search would give you resources that use the word internet near to the word security.  How near these words are placed within the resource depends on the search facility you use.  It may be within 10 words or within 50 words.  Read the help notes to find out.

Boolean searches are excellent for finding resources that conform to a very narrow description.  Building a Boolean search may take a few tries, but the results are worth it.

Note that with quality services such as Alta Vista you can choose to specify a language returned resources must be in, or leave it undefined. Specifying language knocks out documents in other languages so be very careful when selecting this option.

Finally, it is worth investigating the Alta Vista's Advanced Search Cheat Sheet as there are some very sophisticated search terms you can use to search for: pages with a link to a page with the specified URL text, pages that contain the specified word or phrase in the page title, pages with a specific word or phrase in the URL and much more.  It's worth the investment, as clever searching reduces wasted research time.

For more information about using Boolean Logic go to http://www.lepak.com and click on the image of this book.

Finding The Right Keywords

If the keywords you are using give you results you like, that’s fine.  If you don't find what you want, you may be using the wrong keywords. For example, if you are interested in heart disease, looking up the word heart will be much less effective than the word cardiac.  They mean the same, but online the word cardiac is used to describe heart health resources. 

When you start a search for a particular type of resource, write a list of all the descriptive words that you can think of. If these words do not return links to suitable online resources, it is possible you are using an unpopular or redundant descriptive word.  There are many words that mean approximately the same (synonyms).  Take the keywords you have been using and make up a list of synonyms.  To do this, check your keywords with a dictionary and better still a thesaurus. 

If you cannot find the proper keywords, surf a directory like Yahoo.  Start with a general keyword that looks right and narrow down your choices as move through the categories. Directory headings are often good for identifying more resource keywords.

For example, looking for resources for an essay describing the effect of IT on Islam, you might search the Yahoo directory and find suitable resources by clicking on Society & Culture, Religion, Faiths and Practices, Islam, Science and Islam. You can each of these word to search for more resources with other search facilities.  For example:

	science islam culture		Search

 

Once you have one resource you like, you can use this to make a list of keywords.  The secret lies in the meta tags, an invisible set of keywords describing the page you are looking at.  To see these meta tags, you have to view the source of the page.  Netscape users click on View, Page Source.  Explorer users click on View, Source.  At the top of the page, you should see a label saying meta name="description".  Behind this you will see a list of descriptive keywords.  Use these to search for more suitable resources. 

The first few lines of source code for the page at http://www.lepak.com/webgenius.html

Note: not all web masters include meta tags when they design a page so you may be disappointed.  However, some search facilities offer a "similar resources" button.  If you have a resource you like that doesn't have list of keywords, take the page title and copy and paste it into a search engine.  When you see your favourite resource listed, click on the Similar Resources button to find more pages.

Curious to find out more? Click on these images for books by Maria O'Daniel: Information Technology Without The Technical Jargon!