NetVision

Using Search Engines
on the World Wide Web
and
Where to Find Search Engine Help
for Composing Queries

 by Thea Jones
Baltimore County (MD) Public Schools

from NetVision's "Yellow Book:"
Teaching With The Internet
May 1977

(To the NetVision home page)

Note (May 2000) -- This page is an archive record of NetVision's efforts. It is not being maintained, and thus many links to educational resources can be expected not to function.

Search engines are locations on the WWW that have been designed to assist you in searching through the large amounts of information that are found on the Internet. Simply stated, a search engine is a large database or index of links to information. Search engines are designed to allow you to search in two ways:

  1. by subject or category
  2. by using keywords

Each search engine accumulates a large database of links to specific sources of information and when you select a subject to search or if you type in a keyword or several keywords, the database is searched for matching terms and the results or "hits" are presented to you. Often these results are ranked by relevancy to your search request.

It is important to remember that each search engine has its own database so you seldom get the same search result from any two search engines. Most search engines update their databases about every two weeks.

Using Netscape, you can access search engines on the WWW in two ways -- by:

  1. Clicking on NetSearch at the button menu. You are automatically taken to one of five randomly selected search engines. At this time the search engines are Lycos, WebCrawler, Excite, Yahoo, and InfoSeek. It is important to note that this is just an introductory page and you will need to make the link to the actual homepage of the search engine. At the introductory page this can be done by selecting or clicking on the name or logo of the search engine.. . . . OR

  2. Using the URL/WWW address for the search engine (see below).

Each search engine has detailed directions on how to search effectively using that particular search engine. It is important to read those directions. You might want to print a copy for future reference. This will give you the freedom to plan your searches even when the Web is too busy to get to the site immediately.

You can become an excellent searcher if you learn to use two or three search engines well. The directions for finding search help for each search engine are given below. Caution: Be sure that you are on the homepage of the search engine when you look for help in learning to use a particular search engine.

Some Popular Search Engines
and
How to Find the Help Screen
at Each Search Engine
Alta Vista
(http://altavista.digital.com/)

At the home page you can select "Advanced" or "Simple" searching. After you select one of these, you can then select the "Help" button for help on that particular kind of searching. The "Help" pages and links from them, have excellent search suggestions.

Excite
(http://excite.com/)

At the home page, you can easily be fooled by the two obvious choices for help ("Search Tips" and "Advanced Search") which are located above the 'Search Button". You also need to scroll through the menu to locate "Help" under the "Information" heading. By then selecting "How to Search" at the "Help Menu, you will find nine selections to help you learn how to be an effective Excite searcher.

InfoSeek
(http://infoseek.com/)

At the homepage, select "Tips" next to the "Seek" button. You will be linked to a well-organized "Help Table of Contents" where you can make selections based on your level of expertise. It is always a good idea to read each selection the first time you visit a search engine.

Lycos
(http://lycos.com/)

At the homepage, select "Inside Lycos" from the Lycos menu. Then from the "Help Pages" menu, select "Search Help". You will be presented with a list of "Help Topics" and you will want to look at "Getting Started With Lycos", "Search Help", and "Custom Search" for specific information on effective use of the Lycos search engine.

Magellan
(http://www.mckinley.com/)

At the homepage, there are two different ways to locate search help. You can select the "Options" button next to the "Search" button and you will be linked to a page which gives you several more links to searching information. Second, you can select the "Help" button on the homepage and you will be linked to a "Frequently Asked Questions" page.

WebCrawler
(http://webcrawler.com/)

At the homepage, select the "Help" button from the button choices at the top of the screen. At the "Help € Contents" screen, you will find three sections for searching help: "Basics of Searching", "Search Tips", and "Out of search ideas?".

Yahoo
(http://yahoo.com/)

At the homepage, select "options" next to the "Search" button. At the next screen, you find two options which link you to explicit information for searching: "Help on Search" and "Advanced Search Syntax". Selecting the "help" button will bring you to general information about Yahoo! Search.

Yahooligans
(http://yahooligans.com/) This is a search engine designed for young students.

By selecting the "INFO" button, you will reach the "Yahooligans! Information Booth" where you can find information about the search engine, however, there are no detailed search strategies for using this search engine.

Some Popular MetaSearch Engines
These sites are "super" search engines. They conduct searches of several search engines using the keyword(s) which you have indicated in your search query.

Highway 61
(http://www.highway61.com/)

At the homepage you will find "Options" which will allow you to select links to more information about searching. Be sure to try "Will the armadillo make it across the road?" (There is humor on the Internet!.)

HotBot
(http://www.hotbot.com/)

At the homepage, select "HELP" to reach a menu of options. Read the information found at "An Introduction to Using HotBot", Frequently Asked Questions", and 'HotBot Controls Reference". All are excellent resources for search information.

Metacrawler
(http://www.metacrawler.com/)

At the homepage, select "FAQ" at the "go2search services" menu. You will want to look at several FAQs: "What is MetaCrawler...", The Quality of my results have gone down...", and "How can I refine MetaCrawler searches?". These will give you information about what Metacrawler is and how to use it effectively.

SavvySearch
(http://guaraldi.cs.colostate.edu:2000/)

At the homepage, select both "FAQ" and "HELP" for information on using this experimental meta-search tool.

For More Information on Becoming a Better Searcher
You might want to learn more about using search engines. The sites listed below have excellent resources for learning how to become a better searcher:

Bellingham Public Schools (Searching for Information)
(http://www.bham.wednet.edu/search.htm)

Articles about searching and research skills, plus a list of links to search engines.

Classroom Connect (Searching)
(http://www.classroom.net/classroom/search.html)

Many good searching resources. Select "Guide to Searching" to find excellent information about searching which could easily be used with your students.

Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators
(http://www.capecod.net/schrockguide/)

The "Search Tools" offers several links to information on searching.

The Spider's Apprentice
(http://www.monash.com/spidap.html)

This entire site is devoted to information on searching search engines and there are many links to additional sites.

University of Maryland Web Search Strategies
(http://www.inform.umd.edu/CompRes/WWWRes/WebSearch/)

An excellent source of tips on how to think about searches, as well as pointers to other sources of search advice and to many search engines' own specialized help on how to construct queries.

Updated 13 June 1997
Links valid as of: 21 May 1997
Comments and suggestions to: netv-web@umail.umd.edu