|
All search engines can do much more than word searches. The exact syntax
varies between the search engines so you might need to use one of the options.
Here are few tips.
 | Being specific helps |
Word order can dramatically change the results. Searching ‘general
montgomery’ brings of pages about military history while ‘montgomery general’
lists hospitals. The use of wildcards such as * ? or % is not recommended and
not well supported. But if you need wildcards, try AltaVista.
| Be very specific |
If you know exactly what you are looking for then surround it in "double
quotes". This is what teachers do to see if you have lifted chunks of your
essay or paper from the web.
| A bit of maths helps |
The + and – operators are powerful. (These are the AND and NOT Boolean
operators, just quicker to type). The minus sign is powerful, as it allows
the search to exclude a lot of clutter. The + is not assumed by search engines.
They assume the OR operator so will find results with each and every word but
rank them so it looks like an AND search.
| Proximity searching |
The NEAR: operator search for this word words nearby alphabetically in Alta
Vista or MSN. Google uses a synonym search if you include the tilde (~) before
the word you are looking for. In both cases the results can be serendipitous.
| Check it out |
Type a URL in Google's search box with the "info:" operator and you
will discover links to that page. AllTheWeb's URL Investigator is similar
(Just type in the URL under the web tab). Both can provide a confidence check on
the status of the information provided. Use the main URL rather than a remote
page on the site if you want any results. If a site has some links to
organisations you respect, it has some credibility.
| Advanced options |
If you don’t like to remember all the rules you could use some of these
advanced pages. The range of filters they offer is astonishing.
Post Script
| Google now recognizes some numeric patterns for common US formats. |
http://www.google.com/help/number
| List of operators in Google |
http://www.google.com/help/operators.html
| The definitive set of essays on search engines and their working
can be found at |
http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/07/30/OnSearchTOC
© Chas Jones 2004
Quality v Quantity
The invisible web
Research
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