How to Effectively Search the Web

by Peg on December 27, 2011

Written by Lisa

Internet search engines (Google, Yahoo!, Bing, About, etc.) search enormous databases of webpages using keywords. The potential of search engines can be maximized by learning how they work and how to find what you’re looking for quickly and effectively. It’s important to state an inquiry the right way so that you don’t end up overwhelmed with too many search results, underwhelmed with too few, or simply unable to locate the information that you need. As with most skills, practice is the key!

Typically, you will end up with many more results or “hits” than you need, so learning how to choose the helpful sites and weed out the others is also an important tool when searching the web.

Getting Started

Before doing a search, define your topic as completely and succinctly as possible. Think of—and maybe even write down—exactly what information you’re seeking, why you’re seeking it, and sometimes even what you’re not looking for. This will help you to discover the best keywords or keyword phrases for the search.

Keywords

Most search engines work best if provided with several keywords. So how do you determine which keywords will work best?

The recommended maximum is 6 to 8 carefully chosen words, preferably nouns and objects. Search engines consider articles (a, an, the) and pronouns (I, you, we, etc.) clutter, so do not include them in a search. Use modifiers or adjectives only when they help to define the object more precisely—as in “Siamese cat” rather than just “cat.”

Use of Phrases

The most powerful search tool is the keyword phrase. Phrases are combinations of two or more words that search documents for the EXACT phrase that is entered. Search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with quotation marks (e.g. “Siamese cat”).

 

 

 Punctuation and Capitalization

Search engines ignore case; queries can be typed in uppercase, lowercase, or a mix of cases. If using lowercase, most engines match on both upper and lower case—so for general searches, lowercase is the easiest form to use.

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Learning Express

by Peg on October 3, 2011

 LearningExpress Library offers practice tests, exercises, skill-building courses, and other information to help you succeed in school, in work, and in life.  For more information about LearningExpress, take a look at this slideshow

http://www.learnatest.com/lelImages/flash/help/GuidedTour/index.htmlAll of these great resources are available for free on the Internet to any Ohio library card holder. 

Getting to LearningExpress

The Learning Express can be reached from the Heights Library website.

  1. Start your Internet browser.
  2. Go to the Heights Library home page http://www.heightslibrary.org
  3. Click on the Do Research button on the right side of the home page.
  4. On the Do Research webpage click the  Databases A to Z box down arrow and select Learning Express Library from the list.
  5. Click the Submit button

NOTE:  If you want to access LearningExpress from your home computer, make sure you have your library card handy.  You will have to enter the card number to gain access.

There are resources available for students (elementary, middle school, high school, and college), as well as for adults seeking to find a job, brush up computer skills, or study for the GED or U.S. Citizenship tests.  There is even a section specifically for Spanish speakers.

LearningExpress courses play like video presentations.  You can skip to a specific section using the menu on the left.  You can also pause, play, skip to the beginning or the end, and adjust the volume using the controls at the bottom of the player.  If you want to go back to a particular point in the course later on, click the Bookmark Selection button to save your place.

Getting the Most Out of LearningExpress

Not sure where to find what you need on LearningExpress?  Just type a topic that interests you into the search box (located in the upper lefthand corner of most pages on the site) and click the magnifying glass icon to see a list of related materials.

 And don’t forget to consult the site’s Help section for more tips and instructions.  Just click the small yellow Help link in the upper righthand corner of the page (right next to My Center and Logout).

The course will stop periodically to give you Lab Exercises to complete (in this case, in Microsoft Word).  Just click the Play button to continue the class once you’ve completed the exercise.

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Best Websites for Writers

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Understanding the MS Word 2007 Ribbon – Home Tab

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Best Websites for Booklovers – Literary Awards

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Using Building Blocks – Watermarks

February 13, 2011

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Using Building Blocks to Create a Cover Page

January 27, 2011

Building Blocks is cool new feature we have added in Office 2007. They enable users to reuse content easily in order to help you put together great looking documents. Essentially parts of a document that can saved in the Building Blocks organizer and then inserted into other documents, quickly and easily. Office 2007 provides a [...]

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Using Building Blocks in Microsoft Office 2007

January 20, 2011

Building Blocks is cool new feature we have added in Office 2007. They enable users to reuse content easily in order to help you put together great looking documents. Essentially parts of a document that can saved in the Building Blocks organizer and then inserted into other documents, quickly and easily. Office 2007 provides a [...]

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Using Style in MS Word 2007

June 24, 2010

Style Basics In MS Word 2007 Styles save time and make your document look good One of the great things about using a word processor is that you can create documents that look professional.  Using Style in Word allows: Headings created in a font that contrasts with body text. Paragraphs separated with just enough white [...]

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Summer PC Learning

June 1, 2010

Beat the Heat! Get signed up today for one of our many Summer Computer Courses. Besides our standard classes for Word, Excel and Power Point we have also added a new class on what to do with a new computer ‘I Bought a Computer, So now What?’ and new class on ‘Windows Basics’. We also [...]

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