Performing a Basic Search
In the previous activity, we learned that the Internet is the largest network in the world. But some people don't understand the difference between the "Internet" and the "World Wide Web".
Just like the Canadian Tire store has several departments such as Sporting Goods, Housewares, and Automotive, the Internet has several departments or subnetworks.
The Web is a Subnetwork of the Internet
The World Wide Web or "Web" is the largest and most well-known subnetwork on the Internet. The Web uses hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) which allow users to retrieve information and jump (hyperlink) to other Web pages. Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) is the language of the Web. Later in this course, you will learn about about HTTP and will create your own Web pages
Just like the Canadian Tire store has several departments such as Sporting Goods, Housewares, and Automotive, the Internet has several departments or subnetworks.
The Web is a Subnetwork of the Internet
The World Wide Web or "Web" is the largest and most well-known subnetwork on the Internet. The Web uses hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) which allow users to retrieve information and jump (hyperlink) to other Web pages. Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) is the language of the Web. Later in this course, you will learn about about HTTP and will create your own Web pages
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Protocol is a digital language
Every subnetwork on the Internet uses a protocol or digital language. Here are some subnetwork protocols that you might already be familiar with (See image "Subnetwork Protocols) Subnetworks require special software To browse the Web you require special software such as Internet Explorer or Google Chrome. These programs will allow you to files on the Web. You may also want to install optional "plug-ins" to enhance your web browser. These plug-ins will allow you to hear audio files and view video files. |
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Accessing pages on the Web
If you know the URL or address of a Web site, you can type it into the address bar and press Go to jump to that page. A URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. Anatomy of a URL Here is a sample URL: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/about/contact.html The above URL is for the Ontario Ministry of Education. Here is how the structure of this URL. Searching for Web pages
Often you need to find Web documents and don't have the Web address. When you search for information on the Web, you are not searching the Web directly, but rather using a search tool that will search its database or collection of sites. Note that no single search tool is able to search the entire Web. Also it is important to note that when searching on the Web, you are searching documents and files captured at an earlier date and not as it exists at this very moment. |
Search Engines
A search engine searches large databases of information by a keyword or phrase. This database of Web files put together by a spider or crawler that crawls through the Web grabbing content and adding it to the search engine index.
A search engine searches large databases of information by a keyword or phrase. This database of Web files put together by a spider or crawler that crawls through the Web grabbing content and adding it to the search engine index.
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Tips for more effective searching
You can narrow your search by combining terms or using a Boolean seach. Boolean Searching A Boolean search (named after a mathematician named George Boole) is based on logic where the searcher uses operators to describe the relationship between keywords and the information needed. There operators are:
An effective search for information on the Web is similar to ordering a hamburger. You would not go into a restaurant and ask for a hamburger. Generally you ask for a hamburger with ketchup and mustard, but without relish and onions. Your hamburger order would look like this using Boolean operators: hamburger AND ketchup AND mustard AND NOT relish AND NOT onions. |
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Your search in Boolean language would show you the Web sites for pages that include the word hamburger as well as the word ketchup and the word mustard. The search would not show pages with the word relish or the word onions.
If you are ordering a drink, you might tell someone that a coke or a root beer would be good. Your drink order would look like this using Boolean operators:
coke OR root beer.
This search will give you Web site for pages that include the word coke or root beer.
As Google is one of the most comprehensive and effective search engines, it will be the one used for this activity. We will focus on the Google Advance Search in order to learn how to obtain better search results.
Google Advanced Search uses the same operators but uses different terminology as described in the table below.
The Web address for Google is: www.google.com
Click on the Advanced Search line or use this Web address: http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en
In order to use the Google Advanced Search effectively, here are four tips that will help improve your results.
If you are ordering a drink, you might tell someone that a coke or a root beer would be good. Your drink order would look like this using Boolean operators:
coke OR root beer.
This search will give you Web site for pages that include the word coke or root beer.
As Google is one of the most comprehensive and effective search engines, it will be the one used for this activity. We will focus on the Google Advance Search in order to learn how to obtain better search results.
Google Advanced Search uses the same operators but uses different terminology as described in the table below.
The Web address for Google is: www.google.com
Click on the Advanced Search line or use this Web address: http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en
In order to use the Google Advanced Search effectively, here are four tips that will help improve your results.
Testing Your Skills with the Four Tips!
For each Practice Exercise record the number of results in a word document with the search words, search engine and number of results.
Ex. Hot Dog, Google, 2,220,000,000 results
Ex. Hot Dog, Google, 2,220,000,000 results
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Tip 1: Start with a narrow search. Try to think of all the words that would be relevant to your search. Include these words in the with ALL the words field. Try to think of all the words that would not be relevant to your search. Include these words in the WITHOUT the words field. If there are other words that are synonyms to your keyword, include them in the with ANY of the words field. Practice Exercise You have decided to do a search on the Blue Jays baseball team. Complete the following searches using Google Advanced Search and record the number of your results.
Here is another search to try using with ANY of the words. Your have decided to do a search on the city of London.
Tip 3: Cut back the URL Often you find a page in a web site and you think you might be interested in other pages in this Web site. You can cut the URL back and try to find the home page. Practice Exercise You have the roster for the Toronto Raptors. Now you are interested in looking at pages on this web site. Cut the URL back to find the home page.
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Tip 2: Search for the exact phrase
You can search for an exact phrase by using quotation marks. For example, if you did a search for the words Magic Kingdom without the quotation marks you would get over 43 million results. If you search for the term, "Magic Kingdom" then the exact phrase must appear on the page. This reduces the results to 2 million. Searching for the exact phrase is useful when:
Did you know that teachers often search for phrases in student work if they suspect it has been plagiarized? Practice Exercise You have decided to do a search on the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Complete the following searches using Google Advanced Search and record the number of your results.
Tip 4: Search for similar pages You can find similar pages by using the fields Similar and Links. Practice Exercise You have found a good Web site about snowboarding tricks. The URL is: http://www.snowboarding.com/
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Useful tips when searching
- Start with a narrow search
- Search for the exact phrase
- Cut back the URL
- Search for similar pages
Activity #2 - Searching the Web
One of your customers has requested your assistance. He has written a quiz on music/literature and wants you to find the answers. You as the owner, of the store, have agreed to assist your customer and are going to search for the answers using the Web.
Answer only the questions that pertain to your business - music store OR book store. Use a 3 column table to present the information attractively (borders, shading and images). Remember that formatting should enhance the presentation of the information and not overpower the message. Using the following headings for your table:
Answer only the questions that pertain to your business - music store OR book store. Use a 3 column table to present the information attractively (borders, shading and images). Remember that formatting should enhance the presentation of the information and not overpower the message. Using the following headings for your table:
- Question
- Answer
- URL where the answer was found
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Music store Assignment
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Book store assignment
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Email your assignment to the teacher as an attachment, use the subject line U1A2.
Different Types of Sources
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Satirical Websites
Websites like the onion have incorrect fake web stories that are used to make fun of or as a joke about topics and stories happening in the world. When doing research you want to ensure you are using a reliable website that is based on facts and represents the entire story and doesn't make up a story based off of an image. |
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News Websites
News websites are a great source of information for current events. Sometimes we see that news outlets are biased and can lean one way on an issue and fails to show all the statistics. It is important to do your research and find another news article that supports your findings before using it as evidence. If you can not find another source you may want to question the validity of the news article. |
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Government Websites
Government websites often are reliable sources of information. They are updated frequently and are statistics and opinions supported by the government of the country. |
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Blog Posts
A blog post is a great spot to start research or find usable images. But you have to remember that this is personal opinion and you want to verify information with another creditable site to ensure you are not spreading false information. These blogs can be run by an organization or an individual. |
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Activity #3 - Doing the Research
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Using the skills on research I want you to find an example of each type of resource for each topic below.
Types of Resources:
Topics:
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Collecting your own Data
There are many ways of collecting your own data, one of those ways is by talking to people. This is a really personal method but takes time and energy to do. We have since moved to a survey of questions, we have a variety of types of questions that we can ask someone and a variety of ways to collect the data. In this course we are going to design an online form that we can send out to our peers to collect information.
Activity #4 - Creating a Survey
Using the above information we are going to create a short form to collect data from the class that we will use at a later date. Your survey has to have a minimum 4 questions and at least 3 different types of questions. You want to edit your survey so it is visually appealing and easy to navigate. Make sure to test it out using the preview function! Once your survey is complete you will be sending it to the classmates so they can respond to it and see what your survey looks like.
Once your survey is complete you will be sending it to the following email, this email is part of a distribution list and will be sent to all members in our classroom. [email protected]
Check your emails and make sure you are completing the surveys from your classmates as well!
Once your survey is complete you will be sending it to the following email, this email is part of a distribution list and will be sent to all members in our classroom. [email protected]
Check your emails and make sure you are completing the surveys from your classmates as well!