This section of the web site is designed to assist students, staff and visitors access useful information available on the World Wide Web. It provides some useful hints for those unfamiliar with web browsing.
In order to refine Internet searching to relevant and specific sites
a number of tools may be used.
Boolean Searching
Boolean involves the use of AND, OR, NOT. Some search engines, such
as Google, use the plus sign + in place of AND and
the minus sign - in place of NOT.
Using AND, NOT, + or - tells the search engine to look for these words
anywhere in the site.
Example (using Google):
Your teacher has asked you to establish a timeline for the Holocaust
during the years 1933 to 1940. The table below shows how the number of
hits reduces as your search is narrowed using specific keywords and the + sign
(take note of the spaces left between words)
Search terms
Number of hits
holocaust
1,180,000
holocaust +timeline
34,500
holocaust +timeline +1933 +1940
2,330
Proximity searching
All search engines recognise the use of quotation marks “ ” to enclose keywords.
Using quotation marks tells the search engine you want all those words
to appear together in a phrase which helps to narrow down your search.
Example (using Google)
Search terms
Number of hits
using “ ”
“italian recipes”
110,000
using no “ ”
italian recipes
2,350,000
Other hints
most search engines include a feature for advanced searching
which is extremely useful for obtaining specific information and is highly
recommended.
search terms are not case sensitive and so capital letters
can usually be ignored – as in the case of “italian recipes”.
choose keywords from your assignment topic carefully – search
engines search for words not complete sentences.
the order in which you enter your keywords is also important.
Information Technology Agreement
Every student and their parent/guardian is expected to sign an Information Technology Agreement, prior to be given access to IT equipment and facilities.
