4.2.3 Using a search engine more effectively

The search shown in Figure 15 is an example of how to use a search engine in a simple way. However, one of the problems with finding information on the web is that there is so much of it, mostly not relevant to what you want. A search for ‘osteogenic sarcoma’ using the Google search engine yielded about 743000 results or ‘hits’. The first few sites listed will probably contain the information being sought. But what about all the others? Are they all about the disease?

The answer is ‘no’. The search results reference all those sites that mention osteogenic sarcoma, so there will be definitions for the disease, clinical information, research papers, minutes of multidisciplinary meetings, and so on. To get to the right information will take refinement, or as previously mentioned, a specialised site.

If you are just looking for information in a general way, too much information isn’t always a problem. Excessive information becomes more irritating and counterproductive when you are looking for some quite specific information.

There is a skill in being able to narrow down your search to eliminate at least some of the things you aren’t looking for. Each search engine has its own ‘personality’ so to speak, though the basic concepts of making more targeted searches are common to most search engines. Search engine screens will generally have a selectable topic called something like ‘Advanced Search’ or ‘Search Tips’.

One obvious step is to choose your keywords carefully. The more specific the keywords you choose, the more likely you are to get what you want. For example, if you want to find information on antique chairs, typing in just the keyword ‘antique’ will return all websites that use the word antique, and typing in the keyword ‘chair’ by itself will return all websites that use the word chair. But typing in both keywords will only return websites that use both words. Adding ‘British’ to ‘antique’ and ‘chair’ will only return websites that have all three words in them. The more keywords you add, the more targeted will be the websites returned to you.

Interestingly, if you have misspelled the keyword ‘myriad’ as ‘myrad’, some search engines will not match it to websites containing the term ‘myriad’. Others will respond with the closest word possible. Google, for example, will respond to ‘myrad’ with the message ‘Did you mean myriad?’ together with some websites related to myriad. Remember to check your spelling carefully.

Another useful strategy is to look for phrases rather than individual words. The previous activity mentioned that you might use ‘myriad’ and ‘supreme court’ to look for information on the controversy. This might yield a response that includes anything about the case in the supreme court. However, if you were to enclose both words together in quotation marks – “myriad supreme” – the web server will only return websites that contain the words used specifically in that order.