WebJunction

Scavenger Hunt - Internet

Find Web sites to answer these sample reference questions. Use advanced searching techniques where necessary. Remember, each search engine is different. Check each search engine's Help pages for specific tips and instructions.

1. I am searching for the lyrics of the hit song, When my Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again, but I am getting results that about moons and gold that are not at all relevant.

2. My child is looking for information on the Web about the Olympic winter games in 1990 and 1994.

3. I want information about Francis Bacon, the 16^th century writer and philosopher. But I'm getting too many pages about a different Francis Bacon, who was a 20^th century painter. How can I get rid of sites about Francis Bacon the artist.

4. What was the name of the movie in which Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor starred?

5. I am doing some genealogy research on the Tomba family from Italy. Is there a way to search for only Web sites written in Italian?

6. I would like to find a recipe for chocolate chip or raisin cookies, but I do not want any recipes that call for walnuts or almonds.

7. My seventh-grader is looking for information about drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but she only wants news stories from the last 3 months.

8. My son is trying to find pictures of the basketball player Scottie Pippen. Is there a way to find Web sites that primarily contain images?

Scavenger Hunt:

Potential Search Strategies

1. A good strategy would be a phrase search. Type the search “When my blue moon turns to gold again” into any major search engine, and you should receive the correct answer within the first few pages.

2. This search provides a good opportunity to add keywords to narrow a search. Try searching with the keywords Olympic Winter Games 1990 1994.

3. There are several possibilities, but “Francis Bacon” -art would likely provide the desired results. This search can also be done from the advanced search page of many search engines, using the “without the words” or “must not include” search options.

4. You can require more than one phrase by placing a plus sign (+) in front of each phrase. The following search will probably return a page with the correct answer, which is “Suddenly Last Summer”: “Katherine Hepburn” “Elizabeth Taylor”. If the search engine you are using does not default to “and” between search terms, place a plus sign before each phrase. Also, a specialized search site, such as Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) would be an excellent choice.

5. The option to limit a search to a specific language is available from a drop-down box on many search engine's advanced search page. In Google, AllTheWeb, Hotbot, or Excite, click the Advanced Search link from the Home page and look for a Language selection.

6. Look for options to use Boolean techniques from the search engine's advanced search page. Try a search the terms chocolate chip or raisin and cookies, but not walnuts or almonds.

7. The option to limit a search to a specific time period is available from a drop-down box on many search engine's advanced search page. In Google, AllTheWeb, or Hotbot, click the Advanced Search link from the Home page and look for an option to limit by Date or the time the page was Last Updated.

8. Many search engines allow you to search only for pictures or images. On the Google home page, click the Images tab and type “Scottie Pippen” in the search box. On the AllTheWeb home page, click Pictures and then type “Scottie Pippen” in the search text box.