Searching is a rei terative process. Each subsequent step refines the findings of the previous step in order to launch the next step. The process is simple. The researcher selects a group of terms (one or more) or a "literal string" (an expression or phrase to be matched ex actly). These are the search parameters. Based upon the results obtained, the researcher modifies the parameters and continues or halts.
Two factors influence the results. These are:
The ORDER of the terms influences the placement of a specific find in the list of results. Searching for "apple, pie" is different from searching for "pie, apple". In placing "apple" before "pie" the researcher is likely to obtain recipes for apple sauce and apple crumble as well as apple pie. Placing "pie" before "apple" might produce a result that lists peach, custard, raisin and other types of pie, many of which have nary an apple as an ingredient.
If you wish to explore this further, consi der how an index (e.g. Lycos, Altavista) uses weightings and how directories (e.g. Yahoo) use hiearchies. Consider how these different ways of organizing searchable material affect the need for cross-referencing in your design of instructional material. What types of pedagogical experiences are enabled by thinking of information reterieval by indexes? By directories?
The COMBINATION of the terms influences inclusions and exclusions. The apple pie researcher can choose to exclud e mentions of "crab apple" or "butter" and narrow the results. Inclusions can also narrow the results. A researcher can choose a list of terms that forces a relation of conjunction between "apple, pie" and "cinnamon". Searches can also be conducted by sp ecifying a special relation to find occurences where terms near each other. This type of searching is called Boolean. These searches use operators indicating relations of exclusion (NOT), inclusion (AND) and proximity (NEAR).
For more details on how Boolean searches work, see the Advanced Text Search Help section of Altavista.
Thinking in terms of Boolean searches can help you plan the informational density of the various sections that comprise the instructional materia ls you design. How?
Don't assume that the intended audience uses the same tools in the same way. Consider the bias that is introduced by the designer's information retrieval habits.