Getting Started with Search Engine

•     It’s a good idea to get familiar with one or two search engines, and to use them whenever you need to search for information. Read the online help files, practice

• Some of the suggested search techniques, and perhaps print out the list of available search options so that you have them with you when you are searching. This will help you feel more in control of your chosen search engine, and will enable you to carry out much more targeted searches.

•       Also, consider whether or not a search engine is the best tool for the job. There might be an internet subject gateway specializing in your subject area that could provide you with exactly the information you are looking for.

•    Before you begin to search, think carefully about the words you are going to use to search (your ‘keywords’).

•       Note them down, and then try to think of any alternative words that might be used to mean the same thing. For example, for ‘insomnia’, you could also use ‘sleep disorders’. If you are searching for something specific, try adding more keywords to limit your search.

•      Different search engines will return different results for the same keyword searches.  Use the search options that are available with your chosen search engine to limit your results to the most relevant resources. Look at the online help files to find out which options your search engine allows, and how you should use them e.g. you might be able to  enter them directly into the search box, or the search engine might offer the option for you to select. Some common search options are listed below.

•    Use double quotation marks to enclose a phrase, e.g. “alternative medicine”.  This will instruct a search engine to find web pages where your keywords occur together in exactly the order you have specified. This will limit your results, because you will only retrieve items where the words are next to each other. Otherwise, you will retrieve items where the words occur, but not necessarily together, so the sites may not be that relevant