Module 4: Finding Information

 

A search engine is a program that retrieves documents based on keyword searches. You can use a search engine from any computer that connects to the internet. Search engines are free to use and there are several search engines available. The search engine preferred by many people, including the librarians here at Tempe Public Library, is Google.

Link to Google Search Engine: http://google.com/

Here is a screenshot of the Google search engine;

This is what you would see if you wanted to do a basic search. Most people use a basic search when they are looking for information on the internet, and many people pick their keywords for searches based on trial and error. If you want to learn more about how to conduct really useful keyword searches, there is a nice tutorial on electronic searching here; Online Workshops for Library Skills (OWLS) OWL 4: Electronic Searching

There are many other search engines available, you might want to take a look at some of them. The library has a great page full of links to various search engines.

Also, a few words about Yahoo are in order. Yahoo behaves like a search engine, but it is actually an indexing program.  Also, Yahoo does index companies who pay for the service at the top of their keyword based lists. So you may notice, when doing a search with Yahoo, that they will list "sponsored results" first. Yahoo also has a lot of extra stuff included with their search index that some people might not appreciate. It is worth the time to take a look yourself and see if you like it. (They do offer free e-mail accounts and many other basic information services, such as weather information, stock and financial information, games, movie reviews, and more)

Module 5: Understanding Web Addresses

Web Tutorial Home