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Using A Search Engine |  |
| Project Details |
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You have probably heard people talking about finding all sorts of interesting information on the Internet and World Wide Web. Maybe you have even had the chance to look around on the World Wide Web. If so, you are probably curious to know just exactly how people find the information that they want on the Web. Through this activity you will be able to try out an Internet search of your own for information you are looking for. Before You Start: |
| Materials Needed |
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This activity will require a computer that is Internet accessible. You also may find it helpful to have a printer in order to print out information you find. |
| Do It |
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Think about a subject you wish you had more information on. Maybe you need to write a history report for school on the Battle of Gettysburg, or maybe you are getting ready to do a 4-H demonstration on kite construction. Write your ideas down on a page of paper. Work with your project helper. Using a search engine on the World Wide Web, such as Yahoo, Lycos, Alta Vista, or Yahooligans, (URLs for these are found in the DATA-BANK) look for information on one of the areas that you have selected. Visit and review at least five of the sites that are listed on your search results page. Develop a small chart on your computer or on paper. Record a rating of each site on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a "great match, very useful" and 1 being "not useful". Also write down some notes about each site, as well as the address that site is located at. Repeat your search a second time using a different search engine. Compare your findings for the second search with your original search. Did the search turn up the same sites or different ones? Develop a small chart for at least five of the sites that you reviewed from this search. Compare this chart to the first chart you developed. If your search turns up too many "hits" or the information doesn't seem helpful to you, consider limiting or changing the search in some way so you have fewer entries to examine. The second search will probably result in less information that will actually be more helpful to you. For instance, instead of doing a search on "Fiber Arts" for your report on Quilting, why not use "Quilting" or "Quilting History" or "Quilt Patterns" as the item you search for? |
| Review It |
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Using the chart you constructed for this activity, share the results of your searches with your helper or another leader or volunteer. Tell them about the process you went through to decide what to search for. Explain to this person how you used the information you found. Which of the search engines did you like best? Why? Which of the two searches resulted in better information for you? Did you find some of the same sites through both searches? |
| Pursue It |
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Is all the information on the Internet true and credible? Talk with a teacher or an experienced Internet surfer to find out how you can evaluate the information that you find on the Internet. Ask them what sources of information that believe are the most reliable. (also see the activity called "Check it Out.") Find out how you can use the information that you find on the World Wide Web on your own computer. Specifically, how can you download Web documents, graphics, audio, and video files to your own computer? Investigate the risks involved in downloading information from the Internet. Talk with someone with Internet experience about copyrighted material, as well as the risk about computer viruses. Prepare a report for your club or class about these risks. Take a poll of people you know who use the Internet. Find out which search engine they prefer to use and find out why that is their preference. Compile the results of your survey. |
| Data Bank |
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A great deal of information is available to us through the World Wide Web. Most of the information that we find there is free, and much of it is helpful. It is important; however, that we be careful "information consumers" while we are on-line, because some of the information that you find on the Internet is misleading or just not true. Excellent questions to ask yourself if you are evaluating the information you have found on the Internet is; "Where is this information coming from?, Why are they putting this information on the World Wide Web? Are there other sources of information that go along with what I have found through this source?" In recent years, it has become easier for people to get information published and placed on the World Wide Web. Because of this it is very important that we consider the source of information and the quality of the information. On the World Wide Web, you will find sites from: individuals, government agencies, businesses, organizations, and universities. These individuals and groups put information on the World Wide Web for many reasons. Increasingly, the Internet has become a way for companies to market their product. Because of that, you need to be just as careful when you gather information from some Web sites as you would if you were gathering information from a television commercial. Search engines are a little like a table of contents for a book or a card catalog in a library. They help Internet visitors to find the information they are looking for. They do this by taking the key words the visitor types in and searching its references for matches. After it has had time to search, it lists the items that most closely match the words the person typed in. These lists include a few brief lines from the Web page, as well as a hyperlink to the page itself. The words you type in to start a search can be the difference between a successful search and one that is overwhelming. Try to be as specific as possible when you start out - and remember - you can always start over with your search if the first results aren't what you hoped for. Here is a web site that will help you develop search strategies:
Many Internet users have a preference based on previous experience. Try out some of the search engines listed below and see which ones your like best.
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Activity: Conduct a WWW search Skill level: Beginning Project skill: Using search engines Life skill: Decision making |
Date completed: Helper's initials: |
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Adapted from material developed by Illinois 4-H. Used by permission. For
IFAS-related questions or information, please contact IFAS External Relations.
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