Search engines are specialized programs that assist you in locating information on the Web and the Internet. To find Information, you go to search service’s Web site and use its search engine, this search engine, like most others, provides two different search approaches.
Keyword search:
In a Keyword search, you enter a keyword or phrase reflecting the information you want. The search engine compares your entry against its database and returns a list of hits, or sites that contain the keywords. Each hit includes a hyperlink to the referenced Web page
(or other resource) along with a brief discussion of the information contained at the location. Many searches result in a large number of hits.
For example, if you were to enter the keyword travel, you would get thousands of hits. Search engines order the hits according to those sites that most likely contain the information requested and present the list to you in that order, usually in groups of 10.
Directory search:
Most search engines also provide a directory or list of categories or topics such as Autos, Finance, and Games. In a Directory search, you select category or topic that fits the information that you want. Another list of subtopics related to the topic you selected appears. You select the subtopic list appears. You continue to narrow your search in this manner until a list of web sites appears. This list corresponds to the hit list previously discussed. As a rule, if you are searching for general information, use the directory search approach. For example, to find general information about classical music, use a directory search beginning with the category music and then select subtopic classical. If you are searching for specific information, use keyword search that includes the album title and /or the artist’s name.
A recent study by the NEC Research Institute found that any one search engine includes only a fraction of the informational sources on the web. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you use more than one search engine when researching important topics. Or you could use a special type of search engine called a Meta search engine.
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