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BA391: Problem Solving & Self Reliance in Learning in Learning
Week 6 -10
EFFECTIVE SEARCHING OF THE INTERNET TO SOLVE
ACCOUNTING PROBLEMS
Objectives (Outline):
What are search engines & how to use them?
What are subject directories & how to use them?
What are metasearch engines & how to use them?
What are gateway pages?
How to design a search strategy?
Three Basic "Families" or Types of Search Tools
1. Search engines defined (The BEST Search Engines to use - TABLE of
features):
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built by computer robot programs ("spiders") -- not by human selection
NOT organized by subject categories -- all pages are ranked by a computer
algorithm
contain full-text (every word) of the web pages they link to -- you find pages
by matching words in the pages you want
huge and often retrieve a lot of information -- for complex searches use ones
that allow you to search within results (sub searching)
UNevaluated -- contain the good, the bad, and the ugly -- YOU must evaluate
everything you find (more on evaluating.)
2. Subject directories defined (The BEST Subject Directories to use- TABLE
of features):
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built by human selection -- not by computers or robot programs
organized into subject categories, classification of pages by subjects -subjects not standardized and vary according to the scope of each directory
NEVER contain full-text of the web pages they link to -- you can only search
what you can see (titles, descriptions, subject categories, etc.) -- use broad
or general terms
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small and specialized to large, but smaller than most search engines -- huge
range in size
often carefully evaluated and annotated (but not always!!)
3. Searchable database contents or the "Invisible Web" (How to find these
databases in the Invisible Web):
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Defined: Pages that cannot be found in search engines and rarely are in
subject directories -- the "visible web" is what you can see using these tools - Invsible Web is estimated to offer two to three times as many pages as the
visible web.
WHY? There are many specialized searchable databases that the World Wide
Web allows you to access through a search box in a web page (for example,
the UCB Library Catalog Pathfinder, or any other library catalog; or some
statistics databases searchable on the web). The terms you use in your
search are sent into that specialized database, and are returned to you in
another web page that is dynamically generated for your answer. It is not
retained anywhere after your search.
o Search Engines cannot access such dynamically generated pages
because the computer robots or spiders that build them cannot type
the searches needed to generate the pages. Spiders find pages by
visiting all the links in the pages they "know about." Unless there are
links somewhere that the spiders can use to re-generate specialized
database searches, the contents of the database is beyond them.
Pages requiring passwords to access them are also closed to search
engines, because spiders cannot type. (There are a few other types of
pages that most search engines refuse to include; please see the
discussion on the Invisible Web page.)
o Directories rarely have the contents of these pages, but, since
directories are built by humans capable of typing, there is no reason
directories cannot contain links which, if clicked, would cause a search
in the database to be dynamically generated each time it is clicked.
What about MetaSearch Engines and Gateway Pages?
MetaSearch Engines (The BEST MetaSearch Engines or some of them TABLE
of features) :
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Defined: Utilities that search more than search engine and/or subject
directory at once and then compile the results in a sometimes convenient
display, sometimes consolidating all the results into a uniform format and
listing. Some offer added value features like the ability to refine searches,
customize which search engines or directories are queried, the time spent in
each, etc. Some you must download and install on your computer, whereas
most run as server-side applications.
Limitation: Like one-stop shopping, the idea has great appeal; but the
implementation results in limiting your ability to control where you "shop." In
my view, NONE of the MetaSearch engines is as good as YOU can be if
you learn to search effectively!! They are a great idea but a
disappointment in implementation.
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Recommendation: This tutorial continues to monitor developing MetaSearch
Engine technologies, but it no longer recommends them in its search
strategy. They are quick and dirty, not thorough, most often omit Google (the
best search engine around), always omit Northern Light (useful in academic
research), and do not let you take advantage of advanced features in any
search engines. Moreover, they are unpredictable both in how they will
transmit a complex search, and you usually don't know what they will search
beforehand.
Directories of Subject Guides and Gateway Pages defined (some good
directories of this type):
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a type of subject directory specializing in web pages compiled by some
"expert" who spent a lot of time searching the web and assembling guides to
a field, subject, discipline, etc.
of great value in doing academic research
locate them the way you locate other subject directories; for tips on locating
them, please see the Subject Directories page.
Want help deciding where to start?
Consult our recommended search strategy. What you know about your topic and
want to know should tell you where to start.
Quick Links
Other search tools pages: Search Engines | Meta-Search Engines | Subject
Directories | Invisible Web | BeyondWeb
Find Websites
Full Internet access is provided for UCB students, faculty and staff via CalNet ID logon.
Basic access is available to visitors: use of catalogs, article database and licensed library
resources, as well as websites in the .edu, .gov, and .org domains (details | local
alternatives for Internet access).
Recommended Search Engines
Full text of billions of web pages. All have AND default & accept " " to make phrases.
Ranks by site popularity
Help searching Google
Search
Google
Advanced Search
(limiting by languages, fields, & domains)
Google Search Tips:
For Boolean OR, capitalize OR, no ( )
Ex: ucb OR cal
Use * as wildcard for unspecified words in phrase searches
Ex: "whatever * * * jane"
Quotes or + before words searches common or stop words.
Ex: "to be or not to be" +the bears
Help searching Ask.com
Ask.com Search Tips:
For Boolean OR, capitalize OR, no ( ).
Ex: ucb OR cal
Quotes or + before words searches common or stop words.
Ex: +to +be +or not +to +be +the bears
Search
Ask.com Advanced Search
(limiting by languages, fields, & domains)
Ranks by site relevancy
Help searching Yahoo!
Search
Yahoo! Search Tips:
For Boolean OR, AND, AND NOT, capitalize these words. Accepts (
).
Ex: libraries AND (ucb OR cal) AND NOT bears
Yahoo! Advanced Search
(limiting by languages, fields, & domains)
Recommended Directories
Selected and evaluated sites organized by subject
Infomine
Help searching Infomine
Librarians' Index to the
Internet (LII)
Help searching LII
16,000+ carefully selected and extensively annotated sites of use in
academic research and for many general inquires.
ALL
Subject
Title
Description
Search
125,000+ well annotated and cataloged sites for academic research.
Search all subject categories at once, or select one from list to focus in.
Infomine Search Tips:
Accepts AND (default), OR and parentheses ( ) in Boolean searches.
# truncates.
LII Search Tips:
Use broad search terms. Can be searched through Vivisimo.
* truncates. Accepts AND (default), OR, and NOT.
Academic Info
About.com
Help searching About.com
College and research level Internet resources.
Academic Info Search Tips:
Browse list of all subjects covered. Recommended approach.
To search, use "and" between terms (default is "or"). Click on
likely category, and use CTRl+F to locate your terms.
About 1 million sites, selected and evaluated by "guides." Evaluate
their credentials as experts in their field.
Search
About.com Search Tips:
Use broad or specific search terms.
Follow "More from..." links in for more pages in a subject category.
Online Tutorial and other Help
Online tutorial and links to more directories of all kinds
More subject directories.
Suggestions for planning your Web search strategy.
HELP: More about on searching and exploring the Internet.
Or attend a Free drop-in class.
TABLES describing: Search Engines | Subject Directories | Other Searches