Effective Web Search

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Effective Web Search

• Lingnan University Library
• Sep 2006

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Outline

• Better options like printed books, paid
  electronic databases?
• Can I trust the contents?
• Subject Directories vs Search Engines
• Google Search Tips
• Useful Tools
• Search Tips

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Before you surf the Net for information, think
are there better alternatives?

• For academic journal articles, use academic
  databases
• e.g. EbscoHost, ProQuest, etc.
• For news archives, use Wisenews, LexisNexis
  Academic , etc.
• Printed materials

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Can I trust the contents?

• Who is the author/publisher?
• Is the information accurate?
• Is the information objective?
• How current is the information?
• Are there references to other sources?
• Who is the intended audience?

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Web Search (1)

• Subject Directories
• e.g. Internet Resources, Librarians Index to
  the Internet, etc.
• When you have a broad topic or idea to research.
• When you want to see a list of sites on your
  topic.
• When you want to avoid viewing low-content
  document that often turn up on search engines.

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Web Search (2)

• Search Engines
• e.g. Google, Vivisimo, etc.
• When you have a narrow or specific topic or idea
  to research.
• When you are looking for a specific site.
• When you want to find new release web sites.
• When you want to search for particular types of
  documents, file types, source locations,
  languages, etc.
• When you want to take advantage of newer
  retrieval technologies link ranking, ranking by
  popularity and so on.

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Web Search (3)Sample Topics

• Begin with a Subject Directory
• Human Rights
• Travel information on Morocco

• Begin with a Search Engine
• Women Rights in Hong Kong (PowerPoint file)
• Travel information on Rabat

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Subject Directories

• Internet Resources
• http//www.library.ln.edu.hk/sir/
• Librarians' Index to the Internet
• http//lii.org/
• Yahoo!
• http//www.yahoo.com

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Search Engines (1)

• Search Engines
• Google -- http//www.google.com/
• Vivisimo -- http//vivisimo.com/

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Google Search Tips (1)

• Exact phrase
• e.g. this was their finest hour
• Similar words
• e.g. fact
• OR search OR
• e.g. vocation Japan OR Korea
• Excluded words -
• e.g. Paris France

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Google Search Tips (2)

• File types filetype
• e.g. cepa filetypeppt
• Definitions define
• e.g. define cepa
• Numerical ranges
• e.g. Jane Fonda 19701975
• Site Specific site
• e.g. child abuse siteedu
• e.g. child abuse sitewww.cuhk.edu.hk

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Google Search Tips (3)

• Conversions
• e.g. 32c in f
• e.g. 50 in pound
• e.g. 39cm in foot
• Math answers
• e.g. 40 499
• e.g. 499
• More tips
• http//www.google.com/help/features.html

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Google Search Tips(4)

• Google Scholar http//scholar.google.com/
• Google News Archive Search
• http//news.google.com/archivesearch

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Search Engines (2)

• Chinese Search Engines /Directories
• SINA -- http//www.sina.com
• ?? -- http//www.baidu.com/
• ??? YamWeb -- http//www.yam.com/
• Others Chinese Search Engines--
  http//www.library.ln.edu.hk/links/pages/Chinese_R
  esources/Search_Engines/

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Search Engines (3)

• Hong Kong Search Engines /Directories
• Timway -- http//www.timway.com/
• Yahoo! Hong Kong -- http//hk.yahoo.com/
• Sina Hong Kong --http//www.sina.com.hk/

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Want to know more about web searching?

• Search Engine Watch
• http//searchenginewatch.com/
• Internet Tutorials
• http//www.internettutorials.net/search.html

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Getting Help

• General Enquiries 2616 8586
• Integrated Helpdesk at Information Commons (1/F,
  Library)
• Tel [phone]
• Ask A Librarian (Electronic Reference)
  http//www.library.ln.edu.hk/eref/

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Q AThank you !