1. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
SCHOOL LIBRARIES PROGRAM
LOLA RODRIGUEZ DE TIO SCHOOL
RESEARCH SKILLS: SEARCHING THE INTERNET
The Internet contains billions of pieces of information. Knowing how to locate high-
quality information from this network is an important, life-long skill. The key to
navigating through the Internet is to use the best search strategies and search tools that
meet your information needs.
The search process:
A search needs to follow a plan. An organizational strategy that can be used to follow a
plan is ForSuRE.
F o r S u R E
FOCUS STRATEGIZE REFINE EVALUATE
“OBJETIVO” “ESTRATEGIA” “REFINAR” “EVALUAR”
Before be online, you should think about the
information you need. Define your question and
decide if you need to narrow, broaden, or change your
question and search.
Decide which keywords, search terms and sources you
will use in your search.
Decide how you can improve your search results.
Did you find appropriate sources for your question?

2. The search tools:
The search tools are instruments available in the Internet that help the user to find good
information in a reasonable time. In the Internet exists two types of search tools: the
tools available through the free Web and the ones available through the invisible Web.
SEARCH TOOLS
FREE WEB INVISIBLE WEB
The part of a Web page that is accessible by Also known as the “deep Web”, this is a
searching standard search engines large area of the Internet that is inaccessible
to search engines. Search for information
materials that were evaluated and edited by
authors or editors.
Search Metasearch Subject Subject Subscription Free
Engines Engines Directories Portals Databases Databases
Information on the free Web can be collected by using the following search tools:
1. Search engines: Computer programs that use electronic search programs
called spiders, crawlers and robots to collect information sources. Search
engines are especially helpful when searching for a focused topic with more than
one keyword or phrase. Each search engine has a different way of arranging the
results according to relevance and sponsored result lists. Sponsored links are
websites that pays to be part of the more relevance results in a search Iist. The
user should be careful with those sponsored links while looks for good
information. An important strategy when using search engines is to structure a
solid query and to use an advanced search screen to narrow or broaden a
search. Some search engines help to find more than documents: illustrations,
videos, audios… Many of the search engines has the alternative to uses
advanced search in which you specify which words to includes or not using
booleans terms. Examples of search engines are: Yahoo!, Google, Altavista.

3. Search tips:
 If you look for information using a search engine you should write a word
that better specify what you want to find in the Internet.
 It is better to write a noun than other type of word.
 Look for synonyms that help you find the information.
 If you write more than a word you need to write the more important ones
first.
 The word should be writes correctly.
 Before you look for information it is important to know how to use the
navigator, its language. The search engine offers help links for your use.
 It is better to use the advanced search.
 If you want to find a phrase or a group of words in a certain order you can
write them with quotation marks (“ ”).
 Use lowercase letters for your search.
 The url of the web address is something that give you important
information about the site.
 Find experts or organizations that can provide accurate and relevant
information. Look for a “Ask an Expert” or “About Us” link.
 Use the Boolean operators of AND (+), OR (-) in search terms to create a
more targeted search in search engines and databases.
2. Metasearch engines: They gather and combine the results of search engines.
They are useful for giving a broad picture of what is available on the Web but do
not offer as much precision as search engines. As the search engines,
metasearch engines arranges the results according to relevance and sponsored
result lists. Example: Vivisimo, Ixquick.
3. Subject directories: They offer links to subject areas selected and maintained
by experts. They should be used when a searcher is starting with a general topic
but can provide fewer results and may not be as up-to-date as search engines.
The information used to be credible, because it is wrote by experts in the
subjects. Example: Librarians’ Index to Internet.
4. Subject portals or gateways: They are catalogs of selected content and
annotated links to web sites that can be used to find information about specific
topic. Example: SearchEric.

4. Information on the invisible Web accessed through the use of the following search
tools:
1. Subscription databases: They are Web-based services purchased by schools
and libraries that offer premium content, which is inaccessible by standard
search engines. They can provide full-text magazines, newspaper, broadcast
transcripts and reference content. Some popular subscriptions databases
include the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC), which is used for locating
library materials; GaleNet, which can be used for research on literary criticism,
opposing viewpoints, and biographies; and SIRS Discoverer, which can be used
for newspaper, magazine and government document searches.
2. Free databases: They offer free access to their archives, but students must
register with a username and password. Example: Library of Congress and the
New York Times.
Vocabulary:
1. database: Organized and searchable collections of materials that have been
filtered and evaluated by publishers, editors and authors.
2. Internet: A large international communication network that links millions of
individuals and computer networks electronically.
3. query: A formal information request that is used with search tools to locate web
sites that match an information need.
4. relevance: This term refers to how closely a site matches search criteria. Some
search engines use special technologies to move the most relevant sites to the
top of the result list.
5. World Wide Web (WWW, the Web): A global collection of information on the
Internet that can be read and interacted with by a computer.

5. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
SCHOOL LIBRARIES PROGRAM
LOLA RODRIGUEZ DE TIO SCHOOL
RESEARCH SKILLS: SEARCHING THE INTERNET
ASSESSMENT
I. Using ForSuRE
A. Define the ForSuRe process.
B. List the questions you should use at each step of the ForSuRe process.
ForSuRe Step Questions you should ask

6. II. Search Engines & Metasearch Engines
A. Create a Venn diagram to illustrate the similarities and differences between
search engines and metasearch engines.
H Search Engines
Search Engines Metasearch Engines
(Differences) ( Similarities) (Differences)
B.What are sponsored links? _________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
C. Why is important to know how a search tool uses relevance?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
D. List three examples of search engines: _____________________________,
__________________________, __________________________________
E. List two examples of metasearch engines: __________________________,
_____________________________

7. III. Using an Advanced Search Screen
A. List the Boolean operators: ______________________________________
B. How can you use Boolean operators to narrow or broaden a search using a
search engine? ________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
IV. The OPAC
A. What is the OPAC? _____________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
B. What information is available using this search tool? ___________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
V. Subscription Databases
A. List the kinds of information found on free and subscription databases.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
B. Why are databases considered to be credible sources for information?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
C. List three examples of subscription databases: ______________________,
__________________________, _________________________________.