Internet Search Exercise

Create a Word document for your results. When you are done, post it to Mahara in the websearch folder

Exercise 1 - Search Engines: Select one topic from the list below. Use at least two different search engines to search for information about your topic. Compare the results you retrieve from each. When comparing your results, consider the following points, among others:

• How easy or difficult was it to figure out how to search?
• Was there adequate documentation to help you formulate your search?
• How many results did you retrieve?
• What proportions of the results were relevant to your perceived information requirements?
• How current were the results?
• Was the amount of detail displayed with the results adequate?
• Was the order in which the results were displayed evident and/or logical?
• What other features contribute to (or detract from) the search engine's utility?

Suggested topics:  

Links to search engines:  

Exercise 2 - Multi-threaded search engines: Use a multi-threaded search engine to search for information about the topic you researched in Exercise 1. Compare your results with those you retrieved with an individual search engine. Also consider the same points as you did above.

Links to multi-threaded search engines:  

Exercise 3 - Subject directories:

(a) Browse the Yahoo subject categories (do not use the search function) to find information about the topic you researched in Exercise 1. Assuming you were able to find some relevant information (it is possible that you will not), consider the following points:

• Which of the two methods - search engines or subject directories - do you consider was more successful or more appropriate? Why?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of each method?

(b) Use Yahoo's search form to search for information on the same topic as you did in (a).

• Which method of searching Yahoo was more successful? Why?
• How does searching Yahoo differ from searching a large search engine database?

(c) Browse and/or search a clearinghouse of specialized subject directories to see if there is a subject directory relevant to your topic. If so, peruse it to see if it would be useful for finding information on your topic.

Links to clearinghouses:  

Exercise 4 - Test your skills: Choose a topic that interests you, or one from the list below. Use one or more tools of each type discussed above to search for information about your topic. Try to incorporate some or all of the following into your searches:

• Experiment with both simple and advanced interfaces
• Read the search tool's documentation for instructions on how to search
• Use Boolean logic, proximity operators, wildcard characters and phrase searching
• Use one or more of the search tips discussed above
• Where applicable, use a search engine's "more like this" feature to generate new searches
• Try different methods of displaying results, including sorting where applicable

Suggested topics:

1. What is the relationship between Mad Cow Disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome?
2. Is it possible to infect your computer's hard drive with a virus by running programs over the Internet that use the Java programming language?
3. Is there any information on the Internet on Apple IPod and how it is made, who uses them, and what the companies projected sales should be for next year?
4. I saw the movie Dejavu. I would like you to find reviews of the movie, any information about it and biographical information about the movie's producer, Jerry Bruckheimer. List 4 movies he has done and three TV shows.

Links to search tools:  

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