SEARCHES
& SEARCH ENGINES
OR HOW
TO GET LESS THAN 3,693,429 HITS
Copyright © 2002 by L. Al "Al"” Greene, Jr. All rights reserved
L. A. “"Al"” Greene,
Jr. Lawyer and
Owner, Greene & Associates, a consumer goods
InterNet based business
IBATeam passcode
is 25324
713.529.7781
al@algreene.com
SCOPE AND OVERVIEW I give some
basic information and you can follow the links for a lot of information and
material. I have included some very good material by others, with their
permission. The first parts contain basic material compiled and published
by professional librarians. Follow their links for all kinds of searching,
mostly non-legal. Help in forming your search query is in the material. I
include a number of sites to get basic information, names, addresses, etc.,
which lawyers and lay people both need. Legal searches and site, including
courts, Texas, Harris County, and Houston resources are included. Most
sites are free. A few fee based one are included and well marked as fee
based.
DISCLAIMER This paper is by no means
exhaustive. There is too much out there on the InterNet. The
opinions are my own. Inclusion of a site or links does mean
endorsement. any copyrighted material is the property of the respective
owners. This is a work in progress.
Search on your own computer
Windows 2000
Start > Search > For
files or Folders
You can use
the file name, or parts of it with wild cards.
Start > Search >
Containing Text
You can use
wild cards with some text.
Netscape/Mozilla lets you search a web
page. The key combination is Ctrl + F, or edit > find and
Replace.
1. Basics
a. Search Engines, Subject Directories & the Deep Web by
University at Albany, Laura Cohen, Network Services Librarian
Getting Started: Selecting a Tool for Your Search
A chart listing general query types and the kinds of search tools that support them
Boolean Searching on the Internet
The principles of search logic and the different manifestations of this logic on Web search engines
A tutorial describing this newsworthy phenomenon: what it is, what to call it, tips for dealing with it, and how to locate its content
How to Choose a Search Engine or Directory
A chart listing numerous features and the search engines & directories that support them
Searching the Internet: Recommended Sites and Search Techniques
An extensive tutorial on the use of subject directories, search engine services, and the "deep" Web. This tutorial covers AltaVista, Ask Jeeves, BUBL LINK, HotBot, Lycos, MetaCrawler and Yahoo!
Second Generation Searching on the Web
Tips on precision searching using features available on second generation search services. This tutorial covers Google, Ixquick, Guidbeam, SurfWax and TracerLock
b. Bare Bones, University of South Carolina, Beaufort,
BARE BONES 101:
"Trends, like horses, are easier to ride in the direction they are going. "
--Anonymous
A BASIC TUTORIAL ON SEARCHING THE WEB
INTRODUCTION
So, you're still getting those 1,670,000+ responses to your search queries on the Web, and you're still too busy to do anything about it, like reading the lengthy, and sometimes confusing, "help" screens to find out how to improve your searching techniques.
Look no further! Real help is here, in the USCB Library's BARE BONES Tutorial.
You can zip through these lessons in no time, any time. They are very short and succinct; each can be read in a few minutes. Feel free to jump in wherever you like, skip what you don't want to read, and come back whenever you need to.
The information contained in the following lessons is truly "bare bones," designed to get you started in the right direction with a minimum of time and effort. For more comprehensive and detailed help on searching the Web, consult our recommended list of sites in Lesson 17 at the end of this tutorial.
NOTE: If you just want some quick SEARCH TIPS,
skip everything else and go directly to Lesson 7.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Lesson 1: Search Engines: a Definition
Lesson 2: Metasearchers: a Definition
Lesson 3: Subject Directories: a Definition
Lesson 4: Library Gateways and Specialized Databases: a Definition
Lesson 5: Evaluating Web Pages
Lesson 6: Creating a Search Strategy
Lesson 7: Basic Search Tips
Lesson 8: Searching with Boolean Logic and Proximity Operators
Lesson 9: Field Searching
Lesson 10: Troubleshooting
Lesson 11: All the Web (Fast): A Closer Look
Lesson 12: Alta Vista: A Closer Look
Lesson 13: Google: A Closer Look
Lesson 14: Ixquick Metasearch: A Closer Look
Lesson 15: Yahoo!: A Closer Look
Lesson 16: Final Exam
Lesson 17: Beyond "Bare Bones"
User Agreement
"Bare Bones 101" has been created by Ellen Chamberlain, Head Librarian at the University of South Carolina Beaufort campus. She is the co-author of BCK2SKOL ("Back to School"), an introductory Internet course for librarians and other serious searchers, initially offered on the Net in 1995 as a listserv, with lessons delivered to over 6,000 subscribers in 62 countries around the world.
Library Home Page Search Engines
[Search Engines] [Metasearchers] [Subject Directories] [Gateways & Databases] [Evaluating Web Pages]
[Search Strategies] [Search Tips] [Boolean Operators] [Field Searching] [Troubleshooting] [All the Web (Fast)]
[Alta Vista] [Google] [Ixquick] [Yahoo!] [Final Exam] [Beyond Bones] [User Agreement]
Links and text checked regularly. Latest update on 17 December 2002.
This tutorial was first created in January 2000 by Ellen Chamberlain, library webweaver.
Copyright © the Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina.
URL:
http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/bones.html
Newspapers
Libraries
Federal Tax Forms (Printable)
Databases Online at Houston Public Library
Grammar,
Spelling, and Punctuation
How I found the images for this Presentation.
Add Google Buttons to your toolbar
Some Fun/Useful Sites
UPS (United States)
ABA Legal Technology Resource
Center
Courts
United States
courts
U. S. Courts home
page
Fifth Circuit Library (Awesome site for
lawyers)
Search
Engines and People Finders
Newspapers
in the 5th Circuit (Texas)
Southern District of Texas, Houston
Division
Texas
Courts
Office of Court
Administration
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Texas Courts of
Appeals
Harris County Courts
& Clerks
State District Courts of Harris
County
Civil Division
Family
District Courts Division
Some Legal Reference
Sites (by no means all) (in no particular order)
The WWW Virtual Law Library
Indiana
Underwood Library, Dedman
School of Law
Lots of real neat and useful links!
First Gov. Gov (The U.S.
Government's Official Web Portal)
This is about the only federal site you will need. Get
online forms, laws and
regulations, search federal, state or both, link to courts,
state and federal, and
much more. Check out their advanced search features. This can help
narrow your results to what you really
want.
Thomas
An official source
of United States Federal Legislative
information.
GPO
Access (United States Code, Federal Register, Federal Regulations.
Congressional Record, and more.)
Search Engines and
Finding People
Search
for People Finders Results (Exclude UK and Australia, 98,400
results)
Search Engine Showdown (Search
Engine news, reviews,
Search
Engine Features Chart (Feature comparisons, good information)
Other
Lawyers
Sites with multiple databases
LexNotes (not
related to Lexis, good links, legal also)
White
Pages
Yellow Pages
Reverse Search
Fee based
finders/searches
Accurint ($0.25
per search)
National People Finders ($99.00
per search)
Some other search
engines (I have not checked these out)
The State of
Texas
Online Services
Drivers
License and ID Card Renewal
Occupational
and Professional Licenses
Harris County, Texas (Home
Page)
Web Services (Lots of
useful links)
Galveston County (very little
online)
The State Bar of
Texas
Some Neat
Sites
Ye Olde Bailey (Reggie
Hirsch)
Good
checklists for all state litigation
Hirsch/Warne cheat
sheet (very good, time tables, etc.)
Maps
A search or
two
Here is a search I
did after seeing a story on ABC 13, Feb. 18, 2003.
doctors
give wrong organs to girl