How to Find What You're Looking For on the Internet
(beta version)
The Internet is a b-i-g place. What you want is very probably out there somewhere. This page is devoted to showing you how to find it.
You can go directly to How to do an Alta Vista search without getting 5000 sites returned
Types of Searches Available
If you know the exact name of what you're looking for, or a few keywords describing it, try a search engine . A search engine examines the entire web for whatever that you specify. This is quick and comprehensive, but you may be overwhelmed by the number of sites found.
If you have a general idea of what you're looking for, try a directory .Directories are tree structures. You start with the most general description of what you want, and work your way down successive menus of choices to refine your search. It can be tedious, but you have some control over what you're seeing, and you get a good overview of what's available on your topic.
If you have something like what you're looking for on your bookmark list, try following some links, known as "surfing" . This can be chancy, but you'll be following well- (or at least previously-) trodden paths to sites other people have liked.
Some kinds of things have their own reference sites, collecting data on a particular topic. Knowing such sites exist makes it easier to find them, and you can build your own stock of useful ones.
...and for good measure, here a few miscellaneous resources.
You may have to combine several of these techniques to find what you're looking for. A search engine may fail to find the exact thing, but yield something close from which you can find a better link. A known site may suggest a topic to explore through a directory tree.
Techniques for Using Search Types
- Search Engines
... or, How to do an Alta Vista (or any other) search without getting 5000 sites returned . (You can skip around this long section.)
- Will this advice work for all search engines?
The principles will, but each search engine has its own set of features. The features are described in a "Help" menu or a "How to Use ..." section you'll see on most search pages. A quick look at such a section is always useful.
- How do I tell a search engine what I'm looking for?
You can give it ("specify") the exact name or a few descriptive words or phrases ("keywords"). Depending on the search engine, you can further control what it looks for with quote marks, parentheses, AND, OR, NOT, NEAR, date limits, and other features. You can use combinations of these conditions. You can use each condition as many times as you like in an expression.
- Where does it look?
A search engine will examine as much of the Web as it knows exists. It may have a large or a small set of places to look. It may actively search out sites to add to its database, or add only those whose authors ask to be listed ("registered").
- How many things will it find for me?
It can find nothing, a little, a lot, WAY too much, exactly what you wanted, nothing like what you wanted, or a bunch of unrelated porno sites mixed in..
- How can I control the order of the sites returned?
Some search engines will allow you to use your conditions to control the order of reporting, so that conditions most important to you are listed first.
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- It didn't find anything!
- You may have mis-spelled or mis-specified what you're looking for. The search will match what you keyed in character-to-character with what's in its database. So re-check your entry. (Embedded spaces count as a spelling problem.)
- What you're looking for may not exist. A business, for example, may not have a website. Or an obscure topic may not have a site devoted to it (hard to believe!).
- One or more sites may exist, but not be listed with the search engine. It may exclude whole classes of sites -- most commonly those involving illegal activity (for example, narcotics sales), X-rated sites, or those it considers of little general interest (those "here's a picture of me, here's a picture of my dog" personal pages).
- You may have made your specification too tight. Things to try:
- Delete a keyword.
- Use OR instead of AND.
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- It found too much!
A search that returns too many items should be regarded as the first step in a negotiating process. It may take several rounds to cut down the number of sites returned to a reasonable number. Some possible offers to put on the table are:
- Use a more specific search term. "Elementary school" will find fewer hits than "school".
- Add an AND condition. Narrow your search to a more specific subset of what you're looking for.
- Add a NOT condition. This can be useful if you see that many unwanted sites have a common thread.
- Add a NEAR condition. This can be useful if you see that many unwanted sites meet both sides of an AND, but in unrelated ways.
- Add a date restriction.
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- What it found isn't what I was looking for at all!
A word may mean different things in different contexts. You ask for "submarine" and get sandwich shops as well as Naval vessels. Try to think of other keywords whose use is unique to your topic. Or, use a specific name and surf to a more general topic.
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- How do I write down those words or phrases?
An exact name should be a full name. Use all lower-case. Alta Vista (and some others) want it in quotes .A phrase should also be in quotes. Try to choose specific, but not too common words associated with your topics. Specific person's names are fine.
- What are the quote marks for?
Quote marks tell the machine that everything inside the quotes is to be treated as if it were a single word.
- What are the parentheses for?
Parentheses tell the machine the order in which you would like the specified conditions evaluated. They work the same way that that parentheses do in algebra -- in fact, the AND-OR-NOT discussion on this page is a part of what's called "Boolean algebra".
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- What can AND do for me?
AND tells the machine that you want a site retrieved only if both sides of the "and" condition are met.
- What can OR do for me?
OR tells the machine that you want a site retrieved if either side of the "or" condition is met.
- What's the difference between AND and OR?
AND excludes sites by making the full set of conditions harder to meet. OR includes sites by making the full set of conditions easier to meet.
- What can NOT do for me?
NOT narrows a search by excluding anything which meets the NOT condition.
- What can NEAR do for me?
NEAR is tighter than AND in that it requires specific proximity (usually 10-15 words apart). It is useful when you can't remember the exact wording of a phrase, or when you want to exclude sites with related words in unrelated contexts.
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- What can the "date" limit do for me?
A date limit looks for sites last updated during a specific time frame. Its most common uses are to find only the most recent sites, or to save time by limiting the number of sites examined in detail.
- Are there other ways to restrict a search?
Each search engine has its own set of special features. For example, Alta Vista can restrict a search by domain address or by link references.
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- How can I fine-tune my keywords?
Try synonyms for your keyword which are more specialized. Add another keyword associated with your topic. Keep trying successively finer searches.
- Where can I find ideas for keywords?
Find a site that's to what you want. Look it up in a directory. Look at other sites in that directory classification. Take keyworks from them back to your search engine.
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- How can I exclude porno sites?
Coding "and not xxx" will help. The site descriptions will usually indicate the nature of the material.
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A few search engines:
- Alta Vista This is where technique is really important -- Alta Vista can find you a few thousand answers to your question without even breathing hard. You can also search newsgroups at this site.
- Lycos Lycos is a little more selective; the incautious will get only a few hundred answers here.
- WebCrawler This one has a lot of fans, too.
- Don't miss! Google (ex-DejaNews) searches the archives of Usenet. The newsgroups are invaluable resources for arcane expertise, wild rumor, and all things 'netly.
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- Directories
The choice of a directory is a matter of taste. Test-drive several to see whose topical classifications most closely match your interests and ways of thinking. Consider how comfortable you are with the style in which levels and links are presented. Expand the directory's topics to get a feel for which one yields the most sites that sound interesting or useful.
Here are a few of the more extensive directories:
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- Follow Known Links
"Surfing" the 'net is more of a exploration mode than a research or reference technique. If you want to know MORE, checking related links (rather than topically identical ones) may be your best bet.
Here is a sampling of link-rich sites:
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- Reference Sites
To build your own reference library, bookmark sites you visit and find useful. To find sites, examine the "Reference" heading on various directories.
Here are a few sites to start you off:
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- The miscellaneous resources:
- List of FAQs The "Frequently Asked Questions" are a staple of newsgroups. Maintained as a community service by the netizenry, each FAQ covers the basic knowledge and/or collective wisdom associated with its parent newsgroup.
- Yahoo Index of "What's New" Sites This is a master list of "What's New" sites -- lists of what has been added to the Web recently. Attention to "What's New"s will often point you to things you never looked for because you never dreamed they existed.
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... and There's More!
Try the ABCs (for mainframe programmers, but includes an explantion of addresses)
This page's URL is:
http://pages.prodigy.net/feaudrey/srchtut.htm
The Electronic Tin Cup
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