Search+Skills

toc Credit for much of the information on this page is given to[| Alan November] and his book [|Web Literacy for Educators].

Lessons in Information Literacy
[|Grade Level Chart of 21st Century Skills] [|21st Century Information Fluency]

Basic Skills
[|Understanding the URL](Alan November) [|Understanding Boolean Search] (nice visual) [|Boolean Searching - nice explanation] [|The Boolify Project] - visual for teaching Boolean Searches

Basic Search Understanding
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 * Identify good key words. Doing some basic brainstorming and skimming can help.
 * Putting multiple words in a search implies AND. Example, Pennsylvania steel, is the same as Pennsylvania and Steel. Results will be sites that include the words Pennsylvania and Steel, not necessarily together.
 * Putting words in quotes will find exact matches. Example: "Pennsylvania and Steel" will find only Pennsylvania and Steel when it is together.
 * Some word may be ignored in the search. If a word is essential to a search, put a + in front of it.
 * Using a - sign will take those words out of the search. This is especially useful if your search term has more than one meaning. Example: Saturn alone will bring in the automobile. If you want the planet, saturn -auto.
 * Using OR between two words will result in site that contain either of the words. Saturn + Planet will hit sites with both words in them. Saturn OR Planet will hit sites with either word in them. OR produces more results than +.

For more search tips, [|click here].

Host/Site Command
In Alta Vista use the host command to find specific information on a specific website.Type host:(domain name) + (search term) In Google use the word site in place of host. Type site:(domain name) + (search term) Examples: //To find information about polio on the CDC site:// Alta Vista - host:cdc.gov +polio Google - site:cdc.gov +polio

//To find information about polio vaccine on the CDC site:// Alta Vista: host:cdc.gov +polio +vaccine or host:cdc.gov +"polio vaccine"

Google: site:cdc.gov +polio +vaccine or site:cdc.gov + "polio vaccine"

//To find the York interviews NPR did:// Alta Vista: host:npr.org +York +PA Google: site:npr.org +York + PA

//To find information on Sylvia Plath on the Poets.org site:// Alta Vista:host:poets.org +"Sylvia Plath" Google: site:poets.org + "Sylvia Plath"

//To find information about American Poets on the Thinkfinity site:// Alta Vista:host:thinkfinity.org + "american poets" Google: site:thinkfinityorg + "american poets"

URL Command
Different from the host command, the Alta Vista URL command will search for any URL's that contain the search term. Type: url:search term(s) Examples: //To find sites that contain the word lion:// url:lion

//To find sites educational sites that contain the word lion:// url:lion +edu OR +k12

Finding Specific Information from Global Sites
For this, you would need to know the country internet codes. You can find them [|here.]

This is one from Alan November: //To find academic sites in Great Britain about the American Revolution:// site:ac.uk +"American Revolution"

//To find information on the American election in France:// site:fr +america +election

An Amazingly Simple Search Tip
Try using the "Similar Pages" link when you get results from a Google search. You find a great site, click the "Similar Pages" to find more!

[|Google Web Search, Classroom Lessons and Resources]
Google Wonder Wheel:
 * Conduct your regular Google Search.
 * On the results page, click on Show Options.
 * On left side, click on Wonder Wheel

[|How Does It All Work] [|101 Tips]

[|Google Advanced Operator Cheat Sheet] [|Google Librarian Central]

[|Using Google Advanced Search] [|Four NETS for Better Searching]

[|Google Quick Reference] [|Quick Help Reference] [|Google News] - News archive search provides an easy way to search and explore historical archives. In addition to helping you search, News archive search can automatically create timelines which show selected results from relevant time periods. [|Google Language Translator] - Search for pages written in various languages. Also can be used to translate text. [|Google Scholar] - Search for scholarly articles. [|Google Books] - Search for full text books. [|Google Blog Search] - Search for blogs. [|University Search] - Searches university sites for specific information [|Government Sites] - Search results are only from Government Sites. [|Apple] - Searches for all things Mac! [|Better ways to search Google News]

[|Searching for Creative Commons Images]

Other than Google . ..
[|Cool Resources That Are Not Google] [|Searchme] - A Visual Search Engine [|Boolify] - Search using boolean commands [|Clusty] - Search results are put into categories [|Dogpile] [|Ask.com] [|Yahoo] [|Alta Vista] [|Refseek.com] [|Spific] [|Search Cube]- a visual search engine [|Mel Zoo] [|PolyCola] - search two search engines at the same time

[|Top 100 Alternative Search Engines]

[|Wikipedia for Schools] [|Wikipedia Beneath the Surface] - nice video of explanation

Some Very Comprehensive Information
[|Tools for Teaching Internet Search Habits] [|Wikipedia List of Search Engines] - this a very comprehensive list of subject-specific search engines. [|Basic Internet Tutorials] [|Search Engines] [|How to Choose a Search Engine] [|Kathy Schrock's Guide to Resources for Web Site evaluation] [|Top 55 Reference Sites]

[|Lil Geltz' Research Page]

[|The Credibles]
Eight-point evaluation checklist from UC Berkley: [|UC Berkley]
 * What can the URL tell you?
 * Who wrote the page? Is he, she, or the authoring institution a qualified authority?
 * Is it dated? Current, timely?
 * Is information cited authentic?
 * Does the page have overall integrity and reliability as a source?
 * What's the bias?
 * Could the page or site be ironic, like a satire or a spoof?
 * If you have questions or reservations, how can you satisfy them?

[|ABC's of Web Literacy]

Ideas to Teach Website Validation
[|Information Literacy Activities] (Alan November)

//Truncating a URL://
http://www.loc.gov/law/help/australia-preventative-detention.php

//Finding sites linked to your site//
This can be done by using Alta Vista. In the Alta Vista search box type: link:site URL (example: link:http://www.cysd.k12.pa.us ). The results will be other sites that are linked to their site. Here are some good sites for demo: link:[|http://www.911sharethetruth.com/](somewhat controversial) link:[|http://martinlutherking.org/] (controversial)

//Using the Wayback Machine//
This website enables you to view all previous versions of a site. Students can see how things on the site have evolved. You will then see links to previous versions of that site. [|What is the website history?] (Alan November)
 * 1) Go to [|Wayback Machine].
 * 2) Type (or copy in) the URL of the site you are checking.
 * 3) Click the Take Me Back button.

//Using easywhois//
[|Easywhois] is a website that lets you find the person and/or company that has registered a specific domain name. [|Finding the website publisher.] (Alan November)



Hoax Sites
(Some sites listed on these pages maybe be blocked to students and/or teachers. Please check them before using in class.) [|Comprehensive List] [|Museum of Hoaxes] - the websites [|Google Ranking of Hoax Sites] [|Article on types of Hoax Sites] (older article but the information is still valid) [|All About Explorers]

The Future - Wolfram/Alpha and More
[|Searching the Deep Web - The Future of Searching] [|Wolfram Alpha - Examples] [|Wolfram Alpha - Video] [|Google Squared]

[|Digital Research Tools]