Syllabus Detail

  • Simple search techniques. 11 GEN

Background

  • Searching content is something we take for granted
  • In the olden days, there were no websites to even Ctrl-F on!
  • Mastering searching is a key skill that can make browsing the web much more efficient

 

Simple search techniques

These techniques are for search engines such as Google. Try think of some other techniques that you could incorporate in to your own search engine!

  • Use quotation marks
    Using quotation marks will search for exact phrases.
    Example: Dr. Seuss quote "I do not like green eggs and "

  • Cut-down on unncessary words
    Sometimes we write words that are unnecessary for a search query.
    Example: "Please help me find a recipe for Lava Cakes" -> "lava cake recipe"

  • Capitalization
    Most search engines can't distinguish between capital letters and lowercase letters. Don't waste time on capitalizing words when trying to find something quickly.

  • Search a specific site
    Search engines can show you results for a specific website.
    Example: Simple search techniques site:thecomputingteacher.com

  • Wildcard searches
    Some databases allow for wildcard searches. This means that you can use a character to represent "ALL". Most databases utilise the asterisk ("*") as a wildcard.
    Example: three blind *

  • Find a word in the title, content or URL
    Some search engines allow for searching within a website's title, content and URL.
    Example: intitle:The Computing Teacher
    Example: intext:databases utilise the
    Example: inurl:computingteacher.com

 

Further Research

  • How to Find Anything Online with Advanced Search Techniques on TutsPlus here
  • TechRepublic's 10 tips for smarter, more efficient Internet searching here

 

Worksheet and Practice (yet to be added)

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