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SUBJECTS › IS › Web Searching
Updated 02/06

Web Searching

Contents

Introduction

This page is designed to provide resources for those who are seeking to improve their Web searching skills. It includes recommended search strategies for finding local government information in Washington State and contains links to many pages that provide search tips and techniques and general reference information. If you have suggestions for additional search strategies or other comments about this page, please contact Carol Tobin, MRSC public policy consultant, at ctobin@mrsc.org or (206) 625-1300.

Search Strategies

Searching for local government information is not that different from general Web searching. Increasingly, local governments are posting documents on their Web sites, including ordinances, plans, council meeting agendas and minutes, applications and forms, and much more. Rather than not finding anything relevant, search engines often produce extensive lists of results which require sifting through and filtering to find the most pertinent, reliable information.

Search Engines versus Subject Directories

Search engines search the full text of billions of Web pages, while subject directories provide access to a more limited set of information, which is organized by subject, usually in a hierarchical structure. For a list of search engines and subject directories, see MRSC's Search Engine Links.

Search engine databases are developed by computer robot programs called "spiders," which add new pages and update and delete information on a regular basis. Typically the search engine spiders find information by following links, although sometimes new pages are sent directly to the search engine company. After the pages have been located by the spiders, another program stores the text and content of the page so that it can be searched by keyword or other advanced search options. You will find a page if your search terms match its content. The various search engines are not equal; some have a larger database than others, and some offer many advanced searching features, such as Boolean searching (using "AND," "OR" and "NOT"), phrase searches, proximity searches, truncation, and others. For basic information on Boolean searching, see the University of California at Berkeley’s Boolean Searching for the Web and University at Albany’s Boolean Searching on the Internet.

Because search engines, such as the popular Google, cover more of the universe of Web sites than directories, they are used for most Web searching. The majority of search engines allow you to search by word, name or phrase. A phrase is generally searched by enclosing the phrase in quotation marks.

Meta search engines will search several other search engines at once and retrieve results from all of their databases. They usually provide a much more limited number of search results than the typical general search engine. Meta search engines provide a quick overview of the type of results you can expect from a particular search engine and are useful in identifying which search engine will offer the most relevant results. Examples of meta search engines include Dogpile, MetaCrawler and Vivisimo.

Subject directories, such as Yahoo or the Librarians' Internet Index, select and organize information by subject, and are a good starting point for searching for information on a broad or general topic. If your search terms are unique or you seek information on a very specific topic, a general search engine like Google or AltaVista is a better option than a subject directory. For example, you might start a search for basic information on economic development with a subject directory; however, when seeking information about Renton's economic development program, a general search engine would be a better option because subject directories do not include such specific information.

Search engines do not index everything on the Web. In some cases, you need to search for information within a database on a particular site. There is a "hidden web" of information that is not indexed by the search engines.

Recommended Search Strategies

These general strategies offer some clues for successful searching and provide a way to organize your approach.

  1. Analyze your topic and plan your search

    As a first step, analyze your topic and determine if there are distinctive words or phrases that can be used. If there are distinctive words or phrases, a general search engine like Google will be useful. The use of unique terms or phrases will help you to focus in on resources that are closely related to your research objectives and help to avoid false hits that do not match your needs. If you are looking for an overview on a broad topic, you might want to start with a Web subject directory like Yahoo. For example, a subject directory would be a good choice for a search on civil engineering firms in general or by state or region, but if you are seeking information on a particular firm or know a name, such as the author of a research report, a general search engine would be much more likely to produce pertinent search results. This is true of topical searches as well; the more precise topics, such as "impact fees" or "military leave" are best handled by search engines. A search engine is the appropriate tool for most complex or specific searches.

    The University of California at Berkeley Library has a helpful guide, Recommended Search Strategy.

    Your search results will be dictated by the terms you use, so be careful to include any synonyms, variant spellings, or equivalent terms. Variant spellings include different forms of a word or alternate spelling. For example, you might want to search for "history," "historic" and "historical." Sometimes this can be handled by the use of the asterisk, as in "histor*" which searches all words that begin with "histor." This is called truncation, and not all search engines (including Google) allow truncation. Many search engines will search for plurals including "woman" and "women," except for phrase searches in quotations, which match the exact terms.

    If the topic is one you don't know much about, you may want to locate an expert. This would be someone knowledgeable in your area of interest that you could contact via e-mail or telephone. For example, you could e-mail the author of a good Web page you find, locate someone in a state or local government staff directory who seems appropriate, or ask advice from members of a subject-related discussion group. (For information on discussion groups see MRSC's Web page on Local Government Discussion Groups.)

  2. Choose your search engines and/or subject directories

    Once you decide that you will use a search engine or a subject directory, the next step is to decide which one or ones. Because Google is one of the largest and most powerful search engines, it is usually the search engine of first choice. It is a good idea to try other search engines, particularly if you're not having much success with the Google. Search Engines, Subject Directories, Guides and Advanced Searching Sites, prepared by MRSC, is a useful starting point for exploring the possible search engine choices, and many of these sites also address subject directories. Yahoo was the original Internet subject directory, and it is still a good starting point for a general subject search.

  3. Refine your search strategy

    After you've done some initial searching and have some search results, review your matches and analyze what you've found. Then refine your search strategy. This is a key step in the search process and can improve the relevancy of your results. Sometimes you can use the URL (uniform resource locator or Web address) from a page you've found to navigate to the site's home page. This involves analyzing the URL to obtain the top level address. MRSC's top level is www.mrsc.org, and all other pages (lower level pages) will have a much longer URL. Then, from the home page, use a local site search option, site directory, or index to dig further.

    You can also use Google's search within domain feature (search restricted to specific Web site), which is available on Google's Advanced Searching page. For example, this is useful for searching for items within MRSC's Web site (restrict search to "mrsg.org"). You may also want to look at sites that link to a particular page or sites that are similar to a page. These searches are called page-specific searches on Google's Advanced Searching page. If you find a good general page on a topic, like "performance measurement," for example, you can find other pages that link to this page by using the Page Specific Search links option. You can also find similar pages by using the Page Specific Search "Similar" option in Google.

    If your current search strategy isn't working, try something else. Look for subject-focused directories on a particular topic. Three directories to try are Librarians' Index, Infomine, and Academic Info. You can also search on the phrase "web directory" with a general search engine like Google or Hotbot. USA.gov, the U.S. government's official Web portal includes a directory of resources for state and local government employees.

    Other options to try include electronic discussion lists and news groups. Three ways to locate lists are Tile.net, Google Groups (for newsgroups), and Yahoo! Groups. Try posting your question to a discussion list that focuses on your subject. MRSC's Web page on Local Government Discussion Groups includes information about subject-oriented groups, subscribing to discussion groups and list etiquette. MRSC's own localgov list is a good choice for a general local government discussion list.

    Site maps and indexes can be especially helpful in finding information on large Web sites with many Web pages and a range of topics. Sometimes it is more valuable to use a site map or directory than to do a search of a large Web site because a site map can provide a good overview of the scope and breadth of the information on the site.

  4. Searching for Washington local government information

    One trick for searching for information on Washington local government Web sites is to use "wa.us" as part of your search. (This works particularly well with Google.) This will restrict the search to jurisdictions that have "wa.us" as part of their URL (uniform resource locator or Web address). You can also use ".ci." or ".co." to restrict the search to city or county Web pages. Note, however, that not all Washington jurisdictions use the ".co." or ".ci" and "wa.us" as part of the URL. For example, Seattle's URL is "seattle.gov" and King County's is "metrokc.gov". Another choice when looking for government information in Washington State is to use Find-It Washington.

  5. Searching for "breaking" news

    In some cases you may be looking for something very recent, and while most search engines are updated regularly, they may not have indexed new information that has been added to the Web within recent weeks. The obvious choice for current information is a news site. You may want to start with a local newspaper, such as the Seattle Times, Spokane Spokesman-Review, Tacoma News-Tribune, Vancouver Columbian, or a television or radio Web site. Check out Washington's Daily Newspapers Online. National sites, such as CNN, National Public Radio, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, are good starting points for recent national and state news information. Many of the news sites require you to register, particularly when using the search option, but most do not charge a fee for registration.

    Many of the popular search engines have a search news feature, including AltaVista News and Google News.

  6. Using the "Find" command

    Another search strategy that is familiar to many searchers is the use of your browser's "Find" command to locate key words within a Web page, but not within an entire Web site (more than one page or document). In order to find the term or phrase that matches your search statement, use the "Find" (on this page) command under the "Edit" menu in Microsoft Explorer or under the "Search" menu in Netscape. A short cut is to use the ctr-F key command. This also works to find terms within pdf files (Adobe Acrobat). (Note: When you select the html version of a pdf document in Google, your search terms will be highlighted within the document.)

  7. Issues when reviewing search results

    Here are a few general points to keep in mind as you review your search results and peruse the material you've found on the Web. Be skeptical of the authority of documents found on the Web. The documents found on local government Web sites are generally legitimate if the site is the jurisdiction's official Web site. Look at the organization (or individual) providing the information to identify any biases. There is plenty of misinformation found on the Web, so you should consider the source of the information. Many organizations have a general explanatory page about themselves, called "About Us" or something similar, which gives the organization's mission and background. If there is no explanation of the organization, be wary. Sophisticated graphics are not an indication of the veracity of the information presented.

    If the Web page indicates the date updated, keep that in mind. If a site has been inactive for years, you'll want to look for something else.

    Sometimes you'll find that a page in your search results doesn't load. In Google you can use the cached feature to retrieve the page in its earlier version.

    Another useful Google feature is the pop-up blocker, which allows you to block the irritating pop-up pages that appear automatically on certain Web sites. This feature is found on the Google Toolbar.

Links

Government Search Engines

These specialized search engines focus on government sites:

Other useful general government links:

Washington State Search Engines

Legal Search Engines

Selected News Sites

Reference Sites

Maps and Illustrations