Seekus.Net
Your One Stop International Search Resource

How to Search

Using a Search Engine can be a very frustrating task. The reason for this is really simple. Computers don't associate words the same way we do. When we decide we want to search for information, we already know what the subject is that we are looking for information about. So we come up with some key words for the search engine that we hope will lead us in the direction of the information we seek. The computer, on the other hand, has no idea where we want to go with these "key words." It will read the words and proceed to search for any subject that relates to, or contains, either one or all of the "key words."

Let's look at an example: Say you are writing a report on the subject of "Military Intelligence during the Vietnam War." You type into your search engine MILITARY INTELLIGENCE VIETNAM. The computer will see this as three different words and will give you a list of sites that contain any of these key words. The word MILITARY relates to thousands of topics. The word VIETNAM, being a proper name, will relate to the country, its history, its culture, its economy, the war, etc. And as the old joke goes, the word INTELLIGENCE has little to do with the word MILITARY. To be sure, the search engine will try to list first the sites that contain most of your "key words," but more often than not, one of the words will dominate the search. Learn to look for the most relevant word in your subject title. In the above example, the word INTELLIGENCE is what ties the other words into a clearly defined topic. Enter the word INTELLIGENCE, then reduce the number of sites by adding the word MILITARY. In this case the word VIETNAM refers more to a time in history than a place, so use that word last. Each time you add a new word to the search, you will reduce the number of sites listed, until you have zeroed in on what you are looking for.

To really visualize how a search works, go back to the cover page and click on the word "WebBrain" listed in topics. "WebBrain" will show you, as well as help you, define your search.

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