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With numerous search engines on the market today, it is important that you understand how to enter your information to receive the best results. This article will focus on the ways to effectively enter your request rather than on the search engines themselves.
When you enter your query it is important that you use a good combination of words. To do this you should consider alternate representations of words for example TV and television. Using synonyms allows you to find related words such as virus, influenza, and flu.
An understanding of case sensitivity is critical to some search engines. Entering a query with upper-case letters matches only words with that spelling. France matches France, but not france or FRANCE. Enter lower-case words to match any case: toyota matches Toyota, TOYOTA, toyota, ToYotA.
If you are unsure about entering special characters in your query, just omit the characters: résumé also matches resume. To find words in your native language, try entering the special characters in your query. For example, for an Irish welcome enter Fáilte .
When searching for a phrase, you need to use double quotes: "Easter Rabbit", or use punctuation with no space between the words: deja-vu.
To ensure a word is present in a document, add a plus sign: +noir+film To ensure a word is not present in a document, enter a minus sign. For example, +pinot+noir-"pinot noir"
To find a family of words in one query, use the * notation. The query invest* matches words like invest, investor, investors, investment, and investing.
Simple and advanced queries are created by entering a combination of words, phrases, or keywords associated with the document type. To refine a search, try entering a specific keyword. Some search engines build a compact, searchable personal index of every item of data (string of characters) in almost every file that your computer can read. It searches the indexed information for specific words and phrases, entered in a query.
One of the most difficult types of searches to understand and use is called Boolean Expressions. This is a complex query that uses Boolean operators to combine keywords. The Boolean operators set the conditions for a search. These operators are the most useful when you combine them to produce a more complex, specific query. The Boolean operators are not case sensitive, therefore they are not required to be capitalized. The three Boolean operators you can use are: (examples)
- AND windows AND doors
- AND NOT windows AND NOT Microsoft
- OR windows OR doors
for related information see
Review of WebFerret Pro
and
Searching for Birth Roots