DOING LIBRARY RESEARCH ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB

 

 

The World Wide Web is used to access an enormous amount of information via the Internet. The quantity of information available is overwhelming. The Web has made it possible to provide electronic access to very useful information. The World Wide Web is a collection of computer files. The Web is part of the Internet. The Internet has been around since the 1970’s, whereas the Web was developed in 1994. The Web simply enables users to access documents much more quickly. Information online is not stored or organized in any logical fashion. There are no standards or guidelines that exist for organizing information on the Web. The Web is so disorganized because no single person or organization controls the Web. It is important to define your topic as much as possible, so you know exactly the information you need. Choose the best keywords and synonyms for your search on the Web.

 

                                                                   BASICS

 

Once you have secured an Internet service provider and obtained your Web browser software, you are ready to navigate the Web. An Internet service provider (ISP) is a company that provides individuals with Internet accounts and connections. Web browser software lets the user view documents and access files. Web browsers are designed to help you find your way around on the Web. When you double click to start your web browser, it will connect to a Web server. A Web server is a software program that receives, manages, and responds to the requests for documents and files. The server processes the requests and sends the requested document.  

 

There are various tools called search engines available to help organize the Web. A search engine is a tool that lets you explore information that is stored in a database. A database is a collection of related information about a subject organized in a useful manner. Search engines provide a topic directory so you can browse for information on a given topic. Search engines are designed to make it easier for you to find what you want on the Internet. Each search engine you use will produce different results because each creates and maintains its own database. But, all search engines work basically the same way. You enter a word or phrase that you are researching and the search engine looks through its indexed database for matches or hits. Web searching tools such as Yahoo, Hotbot, Google, AltaVista, Lycos, Northern Light, Excite, Infoseek, LookSmart, and WebCrawler provide different types of Web searches as well as different methods of searching. The contents must be searched according to the rules of computer database searching. There is no one strategy to cover all searching aspects. The objective of searching is to locate the desired information. The computer has revolutionized the search process. The search strategy usually begins with keywords or phrases, which are concepts of interest. The searcher must use as many synonyms or other words as possible for likely search terms to make a complete search of the topic. The search is conducted by the use of Boolean connectors. These logical connectors limit the search.

 

Boolean logic consists of three operators:

 

                                                  OR

 

This connector retrieves all records containing one term, the other term or both. It searches for synonymous terms or concepts. The more terms or concepts that are combined in a search with OR, the more records will be retrieved.   

                                   

Example: college OR university

 

                                                  AND

 

This connector retrieves records in which both concepts or terms are present. The use of the logical conjunctive AND will narrow and clarify the search. The more terms or concepts that are combined in a search with an AND, the fewer records will be retrieved.   

 

Example: college AND education

 

                                                  NOT

 

Records are retrieved with only one term present. NOT excludes records from the search results.

                                                                                                                                                                      

Example: college NOT university

 

You may use Boolean operators to narrow or broaden the search. The operators are the connectors, which indicate the logical relationship between concepts or terms. Not all of the search engines support Boolean searching so remember to check each individual search engine for searching instructions. A modifier causes the search engine to do something special with the word directly following the symbol. A modifier is a symbol or other character indicating an operation that acts on one or more elements. You can modify keywords with:

 

                                                  +

 

Use this modifier when a keyword must be included for a match. The example below will include any form of the word, i .e. college, colleges, etc.

 

Example: colleg+

 

                                                  -            

 

Use this modifier when a keyword must exclude a word.

 

Example: college-university

 

                                                “” 

 

Quotation marks search for an exact phrase. This is called a phrase search. In a database program or Web search engine, it is a keyword search in which the search terms are surrounded by special markers, such as quotations, to show they form a phrase.

 

Example: “new math”

 

                                                  *

 

Wildcards are another tool to use in your Internet searches. Wildcards can be used when you are not quite sure of what word to use. A wildcard is a keyboard character that can be used to represent one or many characters. Some search sites do not support wildcards, however, use what is called automatic truncation. On these sites, a wildcard is assumed at the end of every word. Truncation is the deletion or omission of a portion of a word that has the same ending. Searching with wildcards or truncation means using an asterisk* to look for variations on a particular word.

 

 Example: college*

                                                                 

                                                   ( )

 

Place terms in parentheses to specify the order in which they will be combined. Without parentheses, terms will be combined in left-to-right order. Enclose phrases within parentheses to further narrow a search, especially when unlike operators are used in a query.  Use parentheses sparingly because you could eliminate material you do not intend to eliminate.

 

Example: (“new math”)

 

TIPS

 

1.       Make the keywords you use as descriptive as possible. The perfect keyword selection delivers results that are really on target for your research query. Also, search for synonyms and like words.

 

2.       Truncate your keywords or use wildcards to get a larger pool of results.

 

3.       Keep your research focused. Ask yourself what particular information are you trying to find. Maintain a high degree of discipline when researching on the Web.

 

4.       Refine your searches. You seldom get the results you are looking for the first time. Have patience and keep trying. You may have to be creative as possible with your keywords. Keep repeating the process until you find what you are looking for.

 

SUMMARY

 

Good searching requires a logical mind. Searching is a really logical process. You have to be creative, detail-oriented and enjoy problem-solving to be a good searcher Researching on the World Wide Web is demanding. Conducting a search can be time consuming and frustrating for the non-expert. This is not surprising given the enormous amount of information available on the World Wide Web and the different ways it is stored and retrieved. There continues to be a huge proliferation of Web sites, because the Internet provides a simple and essentially cost-free way to publish and attain worldwide exposure. Learning to search the Web is an on going process that builds with experience. The learning process can be laborious; but the reward is a world of information that becomes readily available to you. Choose a keyword search to obtain specific information, since its extensive database is likely to contain the information sought. Start by working with no more than two or three search tools until you gain some mastery over them. A search tool’s Help section usually describes its current keyword search practices. From these learn how best to compose a query and focus the search. The enormous amount of information on the Internet, the many search tools, and the complexities of their use may intimidate you. This need not be; just focus on the subject you wish to pursue, develop a search plan and go about finding the desired information. Choose a subject search when you want general information on a subject or topic. The aim of this tutorial is to add to your knowledge and understanding of the search process and to help improve your skills in conducting searches on the Web.