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Lesson: Online Search Techniques: 6 Keys to Success

Description

The purpose of this lesson is to teach students search techniques (e.g. Boolean operators, truncation, exact phrase searching) in order to retrieve valuable results from search engines. This lesson assumes students have prior knowledge of the definition and uses of web search tools - search engines and directories - and Boolean connectors AND, OR and NOT. This lesson is best introduced once students have a research question or topic statement already developed.

Learning Outcomes   I   Suggested Procedure   I   Assessment    for this Lesson

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to use Boolean operators to connect keywords or phrases of their topic.
Students will be able to search by exact phrase.
Students will understand the role of truncation and limits to the quality of their results.
Students will be aware of basic and advanced search screens and when to use them
Students will understand the importance of using limits in their search

Suggested Procedure

Open web browser - Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Choose a topic that students won't be using. Tell students that they will be learning 6 techniques that will help them search the web effectively.

Technique 1 Looking at a search engine's search tips or help guides.

Tell students that there are many search engines, and most have different types of search features available. To ensure your search engine has the search features you need, read the HELP. Typically, it only takes a few minutes to skim through the guide. (NOTE: See the lesson on skimming to help students enhance these skills).

Go to Hotbot ( http://www.hotbot.com)

Scroll down and click on HELP. Point out the information on getting started and performing a basic search.

Technique 2 Basic search and advanced search.

Go to Google. ( http://www.google.com ) Point out the basic search screen for Google. Then, click on the link for advanced search. Point out the added features. Discuss briefly the most helpful search features available for the unit of study. (e.g. Occurrences - limiting where to search for the keywords to titles may return more relevant results.)

Technique 3 Boolean operators.

Review Boolean operators briefly. Draw 3 Venn diagrams on the board. Illustrate AND, OR, NOT. Stress to students that this is an essential way of connecting the concepts or main ideas of their topics together.

Go to Google's Advanced search screen . (http://www.google.com/advanced_search) Tell students that often, search engines will translate the Boolean operators into phrases. · AND = with all of the words · OR = with any of the words · NOT = Without the words

If time permits, go to HotBot ( http://www.hotbot.com) to reinforce this concept.

Technique 4 Searching as an exact phrase.

Write a keyword phrase on the board (e.g. abortion rights, human cloning, California missions).

Continue on Google, using the basic search screen.

• Type California missions without quotation marks into the search query box. Point out the number of results. (over 360,000)
• Type "California missions" within quotation marks into the search query box. Point out the significant decrease in the number of results. (approximately 11,000)
• Tell students that if they want to have the search engine search the two words together as a phrase, the must put quotation marks around the words. (e.g. "California missions").
• Tell students that exact phrase searching is a way to get fewer and more useful results.

Technique 5 Truncation.

What is truncation? Also referred to as "wildcards". This symbol allows you to search the endings of a word stem.
For example child* = child, children, childless.

Ask students to name the endings for another word. E.G hous* = housing, house, household, households.

• Ask students why they think this technique might be useful. Reasons include that you can search for the singular and plural of a word e.g. mission, missions
  
• Other wildcards replace one letter/character of a word. E.G wom?n = woman or women; E.G: mission? - mission (singular) or missions (plural)
• Tell students that there are several truncation symbols that search engines use. The most common are asterisk *, question mark ?, or the pound sign #.

Technique 6 Limits.

Tell students that often search engines enable you to limit your results. Go to the screen and ask students to identify limits (date, language, type of material, such as web pages, listservs, images).

Go to Google's Advanced Search screen (http://www.google.com/advanced_search ). Ask students to point out limits available. Discuss briefly how that limit might help them when they search for their topics.

Go to Northernlight's Power search screen (http://northernlight.com/power.html ) Ask students to point out the different types of limits available via this search engine.

Other Tips for Increased Interactivity

• Conduct lesson in a computer lab where each student or student pairs can follow along and perform searches with you.
• As you go over each KEY for success, select a different student to come to the computer and navigate or type in the search.
• Split the six keys over 2 days. Introduce some of them and have students perform searches on their topics using the KEYS taught.

Assessment

Students complete the accompanying Online Search Techniques Searching Worksheet.
Students keep a search log of the search engines used, the search statements they typed in, the number and quality of results.

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This page was last updated February 21, 2002 This lesson was created to support the AT&T/UCLA Initiatives for 21st Century Literacies. Online Search Techniques: 6 Keys to Success was created by Stephanie Brasley