Internet Research

The Search Strategy

Define your destination

Internet research is the opposite of “surfing the Web”

Surfing takes you aimlessly from site to site.

Internet research takes you to a specific destination

In other words: Visualize the perfect “hit.” Define the desired data.

Frame your question

You should then put your question or project into words.

Ideally, you should write the question down in a query sentence or two.

Writing is a way of thinking. It forces you to be specific.

I want to find information on Sony, the entertainment conglomerate.

What is the population of Bethlehem?

General or specific?

It is crucial to decide immediately if you are looking for general or specific information.

Are you looking for general information on heart transplants?

Or are you looking for the name of the doctor who performed the first heart transplant?

Take a good guess

You may be able to find what you need by simply guessing the URL where your desired information may be found.

For example, if you want information on the Sony corporation, why not try www.sony.com?

If you are looking for population figures, why not try www.census.gov?

Identify keywords

Most often, guessing will not bring enough results.

With your question framed, you then must identify the main concepts – the keywords with which you will search.

Underline those central terms in your written query sentence.

Determine synonyms or alternate spellings

Determine synonyms. For example, if you are interested in colleges, you’d better search universities too.

Think about whether the keyword has alternate spellings. Research on former President Clinton will work best with Bill Clinton as well as William.

Capital letters and plurals

Use capital letters purposefully.

The word bill will get you results on payments and dollars as well as people named William. Bill should get you people named William.

Use plurals purposefully. Colleges may not produce results that use the word college.

Identify variants

The English language is filled with wonderful possibilities and permutations.

Think about variant word forms of each keyword.

If you are interested in research on weight reduction, you will want to account for: reducing and reduce as well as reduction.

Use truncation (stemming)

Truncation is shortening or cutting off words (to their “stems” or roots) so that the search engine will find all forms of the word.

Use truncation with an asterisk (*) to find variant word forms.

For example, use reduc* for reduce, reducing and reduction.

Anticipate ambiguities

The English language can work against you.

Anticipate multiple meanings and ambiguities.

If you are interested in Apple computers, you have to make sure your research doesn’t get a lot of information on the fruit.

Choose Boolean operators

Boolean searching is named for George Boole, a 19^th Century mathematician. He defined logical relationships among words.

The four main Boolean operators are AND, OR, NOT, and NEAR.

Boolean operators are an excellent means to prevent unwanted search results.

AND

Combine keywords with Boolean AND. Often, AND must be capitalized.

AND tells the search engine that all the keywords must appear in the results.

Apple AND computer will bring results with both those terms. It should cut down on unwanted information about fruit.

OR

For a more comprehensive search, combine synonyms with Boolean OR.

OR tells the search engine that at least one of those words must appear in results.

For example, loss OR reduction

NOT

Use NOT to eliminate variant word forms or ambiguities.

Apple NOT fruit will prevent you from getting information on the fruit.

NEAR

NEAR is a proximity operator.

It allows you to request that search terms be close to each other in a document.

Population NEAR United States will bring documents in which population and United States are near each other in a page.

Combine truncation and Boolean

Use all the techniques at your disposal.

Combine truncated keywords and the Boolean operators.

For example, (los* or reduc*) AND weight will get you results on weight loss and weight reduction as well as reducing weight.

Put the words in order

Most search engines will return results according to the order in which you typed your search terms.

They assume you put the most important term first. Did you?

CHECK YOUR SPELLING

If you misspell a keyword, your results will only contain websites where that word is also misspelled.

Watch out for typos.

Choose the right tool

Your question and strategy will shape the next important step: the choice of your research tool.

The tools

For general information or specialty databases, choose a subject directory.

For specific information, likely found at a Web site, choose a search engine or meta-tool.

For news, go to news archives or Nexis.

For a specific fact --a quote, date or statistic -- use a “ready reference” tool, such as an almanac, fact book or encyclopedia.

Do another search

Each search tool and search engine will produce different results.

Try your search on a number of different tools and compare results.

One in a billion

Remember there may now be 1 billion Web pages.

Invest 10 minutes in a good research strategy and you will find the one page that answers your question.


	Internet research is the opposite of “surfing the Web”
	Surfing takes you aimlessly from site to site.
	Internet research takes you to a specific destination
	In other words: Visualize the perfect “hit.” Define the desired data.


	You should then put your question or project into words.
	Ideally, you should write the question down in a query sentence or two.
	Writing is a way of thinking. It forces you to be specific.
	I want to find information on Sony, the entertainment conglomerate.
	What is the population of Bethlehem?


	It is crucial to decide immediately if you are looking for general or specific information.
	Are you looking for general information on heart transplants?
	Or are you looking for the name of the doctor who performed the first heart transplant?


	You may be able to find what you need by simply guessing the URL where your desired information may be found.
	For example, if you want information on the Sony corporation, why not try www.sony.com?
	If you are looking for population figures, why not try www.census.gov?


	Most often, guessing will not bring enough results.
	With your question framed, you then must identify the main concepts – the keywords with which you will search.
	Underline those central terms in your written query sentence.


	Determine synonyms. For example, if you are interested in colleges, you’d better search universities too.
	Think about whether the keyword has alternate spellings. Research on former President Clinton will work best with Bill Clinton as well as William.


	Use capital letters purposefully.
	The word bill will get you results on payments and dollars as well as people named William. Bill should get you people named William.
	Use plurals purposefully. Colleges may not produce results that use the word college.


	The English language is filled with wonderful possibilities and permutations.
	Think about variant word forms of each keyword.
	If you are interested in research on weight reduction, you will want to account for: reducing and reduce as well as reduction.


	Truncation is shortening or cutting off words (to their “stems” or roots) so that the search engine will find all forms of the word.
	Use truncation with an asterisk (*) to find variant word forms.
	For example, use reduc* for reduce, reducing and reduction.


	The English language can work against you.
	Anticipate multiple meanings and ambiguities.
	If you are interested in Apple computers, you have to make sure your research doesn’t get a lot of information on the fruit.


	Boolean searching is named for George Boole, a 19^th Century mathematician. He defined logical relationships among words.
	The four main Boolean operators are AND, OR, NOT, and NEAR.
	Boolean operators are an excellent means to prevent unwanted search results.


	Combine keywords with Boolean AND. Often, AND must be capitalized.
	AND tells the search engine that all the keywords must appear in the results.
	Apple AND computer will bring results with both those terms. It should cut down on unwanted information about fruit.


	For a more comprehensive search, combine synonyms with Boolean OR.
	OR tells the search engine that at least one of those words must appear in results.
	For example, loss OR reduction


	Use NOT to eliminate variant word forms or ambiguities.
	Apple NOT fruit will prevent you from getting information on the fruit.


	NEAR is a proximity operator.
	It allows you to request that search terms be close to each other in a document.
	Population NEAR United States will bring documents in which population and United States are near each other in a page.


	Use all the techniques at your disposal.
	Combine truncated keywords and the Boolean operators.
	For example, (los* or reduc*) AND weight will get you results on weight loss and weight reduction as well as reducing weight.


	Most search engines will return results according to the order in which you typed your search terms.
	They assume you put the most important term first. Did you?


	If you misspell a keyword, your results will only contain websites where that word is also misspelled.
	Watch out for typos.


	Your question and strategy will shape the next important step: the choice of your research tool.


	For general information or specialty databases, choose a subject directory.
	For specific information, likely found at a Web site, choose a search engine or meta-tool.
	For news, go to news archives or Nexis.
	For a specific fact --a quote, date or statistic -- use a “ready reference” tool, such as an almanac, fact book or encyclopedia.


	Each search tool and search engine will produce different results.
	Try your search on a number of different tools and compare results.


	Remember there may now be 1 billion Web pages.
	Invest 10 minutes in a good research strategy and you will find the one page that answers your question.