Module 4 Search Engine Task

1. Choose your most commonly used internet search engine and do a search for the words: advanced internet users. Record the first hit and number of hits in your learning log.

For the first part of this task I used Google, being the search engine that I utilize most often. The search for Advanced Internet Users returned a total of 118,000,000 hits!

Google - first 5 hits:

Advanced Internet Users Tutorial - CIESE

- Advanced User's Internet Training Resources

Advanced Internet Users, School of Continuing Education ...

http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/global/asiapac/news/2005/pr_09-21.html

StatCounter Free invisible Web tracker, Hit counter and Web stats

2. Using copernicus or similar, set it up to search at least three search engines (including one that will search the 'deep web') and repeat eactly the same search.
Record the number of hits in your learning log, and compare to your first search. What differences did you notice? Why? Which search, on first glance gave you the most promising results?

For the second part of this task, I used the Copernic Agent. It was setup to utilize 12 search engines. The search for Advanced Internet Users returned a mere 49 hits.

Copernic Agent - first 5 hits:

Advanced Internet Users Tutorial - CIESE

Windows 98 Using Windows 98: Exploring the Internet-Tips and Tricks for Advanced Users

Advanced Internet Users, School of Continuing Education ...

Courier Mail - Internet

Debian Networking for Basic and Advanced Users - Debian Admin

Comparing the respective search results from Google and the Copernic Agent, there was a distinct difference in the number of hits that were returned - Google 118,000,000 and Copernic 49. Quite a contrast and hence this begs the question - why such a variance between search results? Prior to starting Module 4, I would have assumed that the Google search was superior in that it's search had been much more thorough, based on the amount of hits it returned. However, having learned about the advantages of Meta search tools such as Copernic and on closer inspection of the results, Copernic returned the most relevant results for the search, hence the smaller number. Copernic is much more thorough in that it utilizes many search engines and searches on a much deeper level, for the most relevent results. This, opposed to single engine searches such as Google, which tend to return pretty much everything whether it be relevant or not.

I think search tools such as Copernic have the potential to save time when it comes to sifting through numerous search results based on more specific searches.

Web Resources:

"Using the Infosphere: Taking & Organising."http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_a/scripts/serve_home (accessed April 12, 2007).

The Ohio State University Libraries, "Using Web Search Tools > Overview - Key Ideas." Last revised July 19, 2005.http://gateway.lib.ohio-state.edu/tutor/les5/ (accessed April 12, 2007).

The Ohio State University Libraries, "Specialized Databases > Overview - Key Ideas." Last revised July 19, 2005.http://gateway.lib.ohio-state.edu/tutor/les5/ (accessed April 12, 2007).