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Ask better questions, and you can dramatically improve your search results. 1. Use at least two or three search terms. By using more keywords to narrow your search, you can locate documents that fit your information needs more precisely. Adding query terms is the easiest way to focus your search quickly - you can add terms directly to the text box on the results page. When using the default all the words setting, adding search terms narrows your results. 2. Be specific. Try to pick words that are unique to the topic you're investigating. If you're looking for information about the Hitchcock Film Cameos, enter all three words in your search. If you enter Hitchcock Film, HotBot may give you pages that discuss film's, but not the cameos. 3. Using all the words vs. any of the words. By default, HotBot displays documents containing all the words in your search query (Note: This is the equivalent of a Boolean AND search). By setting the main search pulldown menu to < tt>any of the words, you'll find documents that contain as few as one of your requested words (a Boolean OR search). This will increase the number of documents that are returned. HotBot's relevance ranking will automatically favor documents th at contain the greatest number of your search words. 4. Use exact phrases. You can narrow your search by requesting that your search terms appear in order as an exact phrase. Select the exact phrase from the search pulldown menu, or simply enclose your phrase in double quotes (" "). For example, if you are looking for database administrators, search for these words as a phrase. This produces one-fifteenth as many matches. You can also mix phrases with single search terms in the search box, for example: "To Catch a Thief" Cary Grant. |
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AH - MoS | Established. 26.03.95 |