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Search Tools
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A Definition
A search tool looks through the web
for the words that you type in the search box. There are three
different types of search tools.
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Search Engines These
are useful if you know a set of keywords that describe what you
want.
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Meta-search Engines.
These send your search to other search engines and directories
and display the total results.
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Subject Directories.
These let you narrow down your search by choosing your subject
from a list. It is a good way to start if you want to know what
is available on a general topic.
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Main Search Tools
Search Tools for Students
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This is a
web guide and search engine designed for students from 7 to
12. You can search by subject or by keyword. |
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This search
engine has thousands of sites that have been selected by
librarians. You can search by word, first letter of the
subject or use the subject area. |
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Ask
Jeeves for Kids lets you type in a question in plain
English, such as "Why is the sky blue?" Sometimes
it takes you straight to the site that answers your
question. Sometimes it asks you to chose an option first. |
Tips for Using
search Tools
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Put
quotation marks around words that go together. For example:
"rock and roll." This will give you sites about dancing. If
you do not use quotation marks, you will get sites about
rocks and bread rolls. |
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Use lower
case letters. For example: education. If you type in capital
letters, you'll only bring you sites that match your
spelling exactly. Use lower case letters and you'll get more
sites. |
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Use
the + (plus) sign before each word in your search. For
example:
+australia +river. This will
give you sites about rivers in Australia and not in other
parts of the world. If you use + signs, you'll get less
sites, but they will be more useful. |
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Use
the - (minus) sign to get rid of information: For example:
+fruit +juice -cordial. This
will give you sites about fruit juice but not cordial. Use
minus signs and you won't get unwanted sites. |
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Use +
(plus), - (minus) and quotation marks at the same time. For
example +"fruit juice" -cordial. If you put quotation marks
around words that go together, the search engines will only
look for sites that have these words next to each other.
This will help you find the sites that you really
want: fruit juice, but not cordial. |
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Use * for
more spelling options: For example colo*r will find colour
and color. Use child* to find everything beginning with this
word. For example children, childhood. childlike, childish,
children's etc. |
Better Searching
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For
information about searching the web and how to improve
your search results, try the following sites:
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