Search Engines

As I update this page in January of 2018, the number of indexed webpages is well past the 1 trillion mark. This number includes only the webpages that have been found and indexed by the search engines. If we include the "invisible web", the number is estimated to be even higher.

This number is astounding when we consider that the very first webpages became available online in late 1990. Never in history has an information explosion of this magnitude taken place.

Note: You can watch the number of indexed webpages grow before your eyes by visiting the internet live stats site.

Even though there are more documents available on the web than in the world's largest libraries, there is a fundamental difference in how those documents are organized. Someone at the physical library knows how many documents they have. No one is sure how many webpages are found on the web. Physical libraries have an all-encompassing classification system, the web most certainly does not. Someone knows the location of every document in the physical library. No one can say that about the web. It is as if someone had taken all the documents in the largest library in the world and randomly thrown them into a huge room with no attempt to count, classify or organize the collection. Herein lies the fundamental problem with doing research on the web. Where do you begin?

Fortunately, Web Search Engines are available. While they are far from perfect, the search engines can aim you in the right direction most of the time. In the next online exploration, you will examine several of these search engines.

It is fine if you get sidetracked on this initial visit to the search engines. One of the real joys (and distractions) of using search engines is the serendipitous discovery of interesting webpages. As you locate useful webpages, be sure to bookmark them for future use.

You will notice that all of the search engines have a similar user interface. Somewhere between all the ads and text on the screen you will see a white text entry box. Move the cursor to this box and click once. Enter the search topic you selected (nothing extra this first time through, just the general topic). Click on the Search button or hit the Enter/Return key. While you are waiting for the search engine to return the "hits" (webpages that match your query), examine the search engine interface. Notice the Help link.  This will give you more information on how to effectively use the search engine. 

Select a topic related to the Content Standard(s) that you selected earlier in the course to use as you compare the search engines.   Using the same topic will give you a point for comparing the effectiveness of each search engine.

Record your observations and reflections in the logbook as you are searching.

Online Exploration: Search Engines