Strategic Searching
(Information from the Common Sense Education Website covering Digital Citizenship)
Essential Question:
What steps can help you find what you’re looking for when you search online?
Learning Objectives: Students will be able to ...
• understand the importance of using a variety of search strategies.
• master new strategies for effective and efficient online searches.
• learn to create and execute a five-step plan for conducting an online search.
What steps can help you find what you’re looking for when you search online?
Learning Objectives: Students will be able to ...
• understand the importance of using a variety of search strategies.
• master new strategies for effective and efficient online searches.
• learn to create and execute a five-step plan for conducting an online search.
Vocabulary:
Effective: A search that yields the precise results you are looking for.
Efficient: A search that does not waste a lot of time or energy.
Strategy: A course of action designed to help you with your search.
Effective: A search that yields the precise results you are looking for.
Efficient: A search that does not waste a lot of time or energy.
Strategy: A course of action designed to help you with your search.
Strategic Searching
Select a research question(s).
Extract keywords and terms.
Apply search strategies.
Run your search.
CHart your search.
Select a research question(s).
Extract keywords and terms.
Apply search strategies.
Run your search.
CHart your search.
Applying Search Strategies
1. Use multiple, specific, descriptive keywords for narrower results.
Example: Searching for concerts will lead to a variety of musical events, ticket purchasing opportunities, and tour dates. Searching for underground hip-hop shows Bay Area will lead to narrower, location-based results.
2. If at first you don’t succeed, try synonyms.
Example: If you’ve tried searching for rare cats but haven’t found what you are looking for, try searching for exotic cats, rare felines, or exotic felines.
3. Place quotation marks around specific words or phrases you’re looking for. Example: If you want information on the president’s residence, search on “White House” rather than white house.
4. Add a minus sign before a word to show that you don’t want that one included.
Example: If you are searching for mullet but you want the fish and not the hairstyle, you would enter: mullet -hair.
5. Look for two words at once by placing OR between them.
If you want information on Cornell but you’re not sure whether it’s a college or a university, search on Cornell College OR University. (Note: the OR has to be capitalized!)
6. Search for and pay attention to URL domain types.
.com = company
.gov = government website
.edu = educational institution
.org = organization
1. Use multiple, specific, descriptive keywords for narrower results.
Example: Searching for concerts will lead to a variety of musical events, ticket purchasing opportunities, and tour dates. Searching for underground hip-hop shows Bay Area will lead to narrower, location-based results.
2. If at first you don’t succeed, try synonyms.
Example: If you’ve tried searching for rare cats but haven’t found what you are looking for, try searching for exotic cats, rare felines, or exotic felines.
3. Place quotation marks around specific words or phrases you’re looking for. Example: If you want information on the president’s residence, search on “White House” rather than white house.
4. Add a minus sign before a word to show that you don’t want that one included.
Example: If you are searching for mullet but you want the fish and not the hairstyle, you would enter: mullet -hair.
5. Look for two words at once by placing OR between them.
If you want information on Cornell but you’re not sure whether it’s a college or a university, search on Cornell College OR University. (Note: the OR has to be capitalized!)
6. Search for and pay attention to URL domain types.
.com = company
.gov = government website
.edu = educational institution
.org = organization