Our favorite
search engine ..... Why?
The Librarians at
Parkland tend to use the Google search engine (www.google.com)
first when we turn to the Web for information.
It's a great search engine that can quickly locate relevant
information. But
did you know about some of its more advanced features? And how does
it "get to the good stuff fast?"
The Advanced
Search lets you limit your search to words in the title of
the page only, or it can let you limit to a specific domain (example:
.gov sites only), or you can limit to pages updated within a certain
time span.
Using quotation
marks in your search also limits your search to words in a specific
order. For example, try "elementary algebra" (about
32,000 hits) versus: elementary
algebra (over 455,000 hits).
Google's Image
search lets you find pictures on the web. We've helped students
find fashions from various time periods (try "poodle skirt"
in the Image search) or find works of art and more.
Google does
accept ads, but they will say "sponsored links" or be at
the side of the search results.
At this time, Google does not let companies pay for "placement"
– to make a website appear higher in the results list.
About those
results …. Google uses its own PageRank system, which in part uses
links to indicate a page's importance.
If site A is linked from sites B, C, D, and E, then A has a
good value. Google also
uses text-matching techniques and weighs the importance/quality of
the linking page in determining a new page's value.
What else
can Google do?
Froogle.com
is Google's new price comparison engine.
Give it a try for something you want to buy.
So, why use
anything else?
Hey, nothing
covers everything, and no search engine is perfect for every search.
Plus, it's not all on the 'net ... lots of useful information
isn't - and may never be - available electronically.
Despite the PageRank system, Google doesn't evaluate
information for credibility. Remember that if you're looking for
scholarly information, articles from journals or other periodicals,
or you want material that is comprehensive or historical in nature,
check out the Library's resources, such as our catalog and research
databases.
Keyword searching
is not always the best way to tackle a search.
Most folks like to use it, but it's not always the most
efficient way to handle complex search topics. If the web page
creator uses different terminology, you may miss out on a site
altogether. Also, the sheer number of matches can be overwhelming.
Sometimes the human element is still needed in answering questions
and finding information. That's
probably why Google recently introduced "Google
Answers," a place where you can name your question and your price – what
you'll pay to have it answered. But – you don't need Google Answers – you have librarians
at your service who can do the same thing ... for free!
Give us a call (373-3839), drop by the Information Desk, or
email us at: pro@parkland.edu.
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