Friday, October 23, 2015


Reflection Day III
Web search
On this day we were taught how to browse using different search tools. In fact the tools were very interesting, informative and useful. So far what I was searching in the net was just a basic search. After attending the third session I came to know more about an advance search and I found it very helpful. I also found that it could save time because required information is provided within short period of time.
  The following are the search tools introduced to us.
  • Boolean Operator 
  • Truncation
  • Wild cards
  • Restricting search using site
  • Restricting search by format
Boolean Operators
They are simple words (AND, OR, NOT or AND NOT) used as conjunctions to combine or exclude keywords in a search, resulting in more focused and productive results. This should save time and effort by eliminating inappropriate hits that must be scanned before discarding.
Using AND operators The AND & OR operators are used to filter records based on more than one condition. The AND operator displays a record if both the first condition AND the second condition are true.
Truncation
Truncation, also called stemming, is a technique that broadens your search to include various word endings and spellings. To use truncation, enter the root of a word and put the truncation symbol at the end. Examples:
child* = child, childs, children, childrens, childhood
genetic* = genetic, genetics, genetically
Truncation symbols may vary by database; common symbols include: *, !, ?, or #
Wildcards:
Similar to truncation, wildcards substitute a symbol for one letter of a word. This is useful if a word is spelled in different ways, but still has the same meaning.
Examples:
wom!n = woman, women
colo?r = color, colour
Restricting search using site;
Using the site operator to search for information from a particular location on the web helps in narrowing down our search. Eg. Typing “org, bt, gov, com…” in the url
Restricting search by formats;
Another way of narrowing down the search and saving time is by restricting with file formats. Type the type of file that we are looking for will reduce our search task to a great deal. Eg. “pdf, htm, xls,docs, ppt,…




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