Finding Information on the Internet

My parents call me occasionally to ask me to look something up for them on the internet. They've been gradually convinced that there is a lot of useful information online--they're just not interested in using it for themselves. Of the people who do have internet access, most will know the basics of how to find the things they're looking for--just type it in at Google or Yahoo or AltaVista or any one of a thousand different websites known as search engines. However, most people don't use these sites as effectively as they could.

The first thing you should know is that all search engines were not created equal. If you're not getting the results you want at one site, try somewhere else. Specific tips will vary by site, but this article focuses on Google, as that's the most popular one at the moment. That doesn't mean you can't take the concepts from this article and apply it to other search engines, but you'll want to make sure that you check the documentation for specifics.

There are two main tips that will see you on your way to becoming an excellent internet researcher. The first is searching for exact phrases, and the second is including words that must or must not be included. These examples are trivial, but can be combined for extremely specific results. If you type knitting in at Google, you will find lots of sites relating to your search. As a matter of fact, you'll find over eleven million knitting sites. Unless you have a lot more free time than I do, you're not going to have time to look at all of those sites to find what you're searching for. If you want to find easy knitting patterns, searching for "easy knitting patterns" will only return pages that use the exact phrase "easy knitting patterns". To include words that must be in the returned page, add a + in front of the word, and a - in front of words you don't want to appear. yarn +knitting will give you results for yarn suitable for knitting, whereas +knitting -crochet" will give you sites only about knitting, not crochet. To combine these techniques, let's try a more realistic example and pretend that you have dropped a stitch while knitting and you can't remember how to pick it up. Search for +knitting +"dropped stitch", and the very first result will be an article about how to pick up a dropped stitch.

With those two things in mind, you can find most of what you need to find. However, searching for websites is not the only thing that Google can do. Don't have a calculator? Type your problem (3*4) in, hit Search, and your result appears. You can also limit your search in interesting ways, such as by number range. Cordless phones $5..30 will find cordless phones in the $5-$30 range. You can even limit your search to one specific site. Knitting site:www.mosaicminds.net will find references to knitting at Mosaic Minds. Are you interested in either knitting or crochet patterns? patterns knitting OR crochet will find you all the pages that reference either of those words. You can even search for word definitions, or include synonyms in your site search. Define knitting will give you the definition of knitting, and ~knitting will search for sites that contain either "knitting" or any synonym of knitting in its database... if there are any synonyms for knitting, anyway.

If you don't want to go to all the bother of learning all these shortcuts, there's still hope for you. Most search engines have a link somewhere near the search box that say "Advanced" or something similar. If you click on that link, you'll be taken to a page that helps you narrow your search down in a fairly self-explanatory sort of way.

Now that we've covered the basics of how to search, you also need to know that the most important part of becoming a Google Queen (or King) is that you open your mind to what to search for. You can use this skill in many ways that most people don't think of doing. For example, let's imagine that you have knitted a potholder from a pattern you printed off the internet, but there's no link to the pattern. Just to make it hard, let's also assume that there's also no name or title on the page you worked from. You want to give proper credit to this designer, so you're going to have to find out where you found it. Find a line in the pattern (one that looks more complicated will be best) and type it in exactly, surrounded by quotation marks. It might take a little trial and error to find the best phrase to search for, but with luck, you'll find the pattern pretty quickly. You can also put a few words from that song you just heard on the radio (in quotes) and you'll be able to find out who sings it and what it's called. Look for your best friend from sixth grade, or even yourself! (This is known as vanity Googling, and you may be surprised at what you find.) An unknown number on your caller ID? Type it in! I almost always find the person with this method instead of finding a phone number website with reverse-lookup capabilities. An email forward that strikes you as suspicious? Search for the keywords, and send the link to the person who sent it to you in the first place. I'm convinced that you can find anything in the world on the internet if you just remember that crafting your search correctly makes all the difference in finding the results you want.