Answer:
Jobs Seeker's
Web Search Guide
Sergio Escobar
PERFORMING A SEARCH:
All search engines will have a search field in which you are able to enter your search terms,
criteria, keywords, or even a website.
Search terms are the keywords a search engine will use to try to find the most relevant search
results.
If you’re looking for general information, just enter the name of the topic you’re
interested in into the search field.
So, if you’re looking for work, you can use the search terms ‘employment’ and ‘jobs’.
The search engine will return you a list of web pages that include the words
‘employment’ and ‘jobs’.
IF you’re looking for more specific information, you can narrow your search results by
using more specific search terms.
So, if you wanted employment opportunities in Phoenix, AZ, you could use the search terms:
‘local’, ‘employment’, ‘jobs’ and ‘Phoenix’.
Once you’ve entered your search terms and selected the search or go button, the search
engine will provide you with a list oF search results.
Depending on your search, you could get thousands or even millions of search results. This is
because search engines will usually list every single web page on the Internet that used those
search terms somewhere on a web page.
(However, the most current and/ or relevant results should be at the top of the list.)
Searching Strategy:
Using Boolean Operators:
use AND,OR,NOT between the words
ex: LOCAL AND JOBS
JOBS NOT IN NEWYORK
Proximity Operators:
With some search engines you can use proximity operators such as OpenText's NEAR operators or Webcrawler's ADJecent or the FOLLOWED BY operator.
With each of these operators, word order is important.
For example: if you place square brackets such as [local jobs] causes a hit if they are found within 100 words of each other.
Truncation (*)
You can use truncation on most search engines.
That is, you can use the asterisk (*) operator to end a root word.
For example: searching for comput* will find computer, computing, and computer jobs.
Note: the asterisk can not be the first or second letter of a root word.
Wildcard (?)
You can find words that share some but not all characters using the question mark (?) operator.
For example: Com?er J?b will find Computer Jobs and Computer Job.
Note: the ? can not be the first character in the search.
You may also use combinations of truncation (*) and single character wildcard (?) in your searches.
Conclusion:
These are just a few of the strategies and new tools trainers can use to make working on the web more productive.
As trainers continue to use the web they will soon see the next generation of web "knowledge tools" begin to emerge.
These will include multidimensional tools that are created to manage data on the web using factors such as "virtual neighborhoods of information,
" "organic structuring," and "mental model based searching and flying mechanisms" .
These are tools which are intended to make the world wide web more manageable for the user.
Let us now go back to my original statement...that the goals of search strategies and engines should be to increase your efficiency
and effectiveness when looking for information on the web.
Only you can decide which search/knowledge management strategies and tools actually improve your productivity.
It is my hope that this article helps you with making these decisions.