Using Search Engines

Emerging Issues:

In our last column we discussed different ways to find websites for practice, such as guessing the URL ("Uniform Resource Locator") for that federal agency address and exploring the indexes in "Webrings" (http://webring.com) for foster parent support resources. But what if you can't find anything useful? Given the size of the web, there is invariably something out there that may be just be what you need, but how do you find the needle in the hayfield? Use a search engine. Unfortunately, most of us don't know how to use one well. They are easy enough to find: all you need to do to summons the large popular ones is click on the "search" button in the browser. Yet we often find nothing or get buried in a hundred-thousand useless websites. Here are some tips for using search engines in social work practice:

First, a few facts. Search engines are basically computer programs that make and maintain huge lists of information. Almost all of the large popular ones such as Excite (http://excite.com), Yahoo! (http://yahoo.com), Google (http://google.com), HotBot (http://www.hotbot.com), and AltaVista (http://altavista.com) are automated. No human is directly involved in creating and maintaining the lists. To make matters worse, the people who create search engines aren't social workers and often have a crummy grasp of what we do. As a result, the larger popular databases often contain useful information but finding it can be very frustrating. Really helpful websites such as The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (http://www.nlchp.org), the Welfare Information Network (http://www.welfareinfo.org), or disability empowerment information from TRIonline (http://www.idsi.net/tri/index.htm) can be easily overlooked.

Next, there are roughly five different types of search engines, and each has different characteristics. "Keyword" search engines such as HotBot and AltaVista scour the web day and night electronically reviewing and indexing new websites. These are the most current, so if you need up-to-the minute information on a very specific subject, they are your best choice. "Directory" engines such as "Yahoo!" and "LookSmart" (http://www.looksmart.com) compile submitted results into categorical databases. These are usually not as up-to-date but tend to be better-organized and easier to use. Most of the popular search engines are moving towards combining both types, and some such as Excite do "concept searching" as well. If you look for websites with "involuntary" as a keyword similar concepts such as "detention" will also be included.

There are two additional types of search tools available: multi- or meta-engines that look through the databases of several search engines at one time, and specialized ones designed for specific purposes. The specialized ones number in the thousands.

Practice Tips:

Avoid randomly choosing engines from the "search" feature on your browser. Just forget that button! Instead, stick to only a few of the engines mentioned in this column and master their instructions thoroughly. No two search engines work exactly in the same way, so develop a fine-grained working knowledge before moving on to new ones. Instructions are usually in the "help" or "FAQ" (frequently asked questions) part of the search engine's website. Occasionally, there may even be a "How to use this search engine" button in plain sight but don't count on it!

Try the meta- or multi-engines first. These have two virtues. First, since these search multiple databases, they make those tedious individual tries - search engine by search engine - unnecessary. Second, they tend to be more forgiving when you enter an imprecise keyword or make a goof. One we particularly like is "Ask Jeeves" at http://askjeeves.com. It will allow you to search using a sentence in plain English. Savvysearch (http://savvysearch.com) searches twelve of the larger engines in manageable groupings.

Choose narrow keywords whenever possible. "Dementia" is OK but "Creutzfeldt-Jakob, Alzheimer's or Pick's Disease" will get more specific results and a shorter list. In addition, learn to combine several key words together using the more advanced search features that many search engines offer. "Logical operators" such as AND, OR, NOT, and NEAR will help avoid the avalanche of useless URLs. Other search-delimiting tools such as quotation marks, parenthetic grouping, wild cards, and other common tricks will drastically cut down your work. For example, we entered: gay and lesbian housing resources into AltaVista and got 2,871,612 hits. The much more specific search: "gay and lesbian" AND (Housing Resources) entered into AltaVista's "advanced text search" turned up six.

If you don't especially like your results and your are after a general concept such as health administration try one of the categorical directory databases such as Yahoo! or LookSmart. Yahoo!'s links for health issues will take you to 11 institutes, 41 organizations and 2 web directories in three clicks. Instead, if you are after a very precise concept such as summer camps for HIV+ tees, try the larger keyword search engines. HotBot found 320 using: adolescent camp HIV+. This sure beats sifting through the 81,580 URLs turned up by Snap (http://www.snap.com).

Use specialized search engines whenever possible. Forget to check the mileage when you transported that infant for adoption from Angola to Evansville? You can convince your supervisor that it was at least 286 miles one way by visiting "How far is it?" (http://www.indo.com/distance/). MapQuest (http://www.mapquest.com) will give you directions. There is probably a complete listing for all of the vegetarian restaurants and Burger Kings along the way somewhere too. Visit C|Net's A-Z list (http://search.cnet.com) for several hundred more specialized search tools.

Finally, if it is really important, use more than one search tool!

Websites to Visit:

A specific search engine for social work:

Dr. Gary Holden’s "World Wide Web for Social Workers" has a vast and growing directory. It started out as a meta-list and just kept growing! http://www.nyu.edu/socialwork/wwwrsw

Thirty or so search engines specifically chosen for social workers:

"Search Tools for Social Work" lists about thirty search engines and provides guidelines for selecting specific ones such as engines designed for children, legal resources, or languages other than English. http://socwork.uindy.edu/links/search1.htm

If you really want to get good at finding stuff:
Visit "Search Engine Watch". They have a superb website and will send you an online newsletter describing emerging technologies and trends.

http://www.searchenginewatch.com

More specialized search engines?

Tracking down that child support contact? "All In One" lists hundreds of engines that you can use.
http://www.allonesearch.com