Question

1. Explain the difference between a web browser and a search engine. (2 points)

2. What is indexing? How does it make search engines work more efficiently? (2 points)






3. What is a web directory? What are the key differences between web directories and search engines? (2 points)






4. What are page-ranking algorithms? Why are they so important? (2 points)






5. What can you look for on a website to indicate that the information it presents is reliable? (2 points)






Analyze (14 points)
Analyze various methods of conducting Internet research.
1. Magda is on a wellness committee at her company. As a member of the committee, she is planning to give a presentation to her coworkers about the flu in preparation for the upcoming cold and flu season. She wants to do some research on the history, diagnosis, and treatment of the flu.
a) Help her identify some effective keyword and Boolean search strategies by filling out the table below. (5 points)
Strategy What It Does Example
Quotation Marks


“flu vaccines”
Plus sign ( + )


flu+vaccine+history
Pipe symbol (|)


flu vaccine|antibiotics
OR


flu vaccine OR antibiotics
NOT


flu vaccine NOT availability






b) Magda was able to find the following sources when she searched "flu diagnosis" using her favorite search engine: Help her determine whether these sources are accurate, relevant, and valid by filling out the table below. (9 points)
Accurate? Relevant? Valid?
First website








Second website








Third website














Synthesize (16 points)
Apply methods of effective Internet search strategies.
Use your favorite search engine to research one of topics below.
Renewable energy
The Ebola virus
The Human Genome Project
1. List the keywords you typed in to your search engine. Then list the first three results. (3 points)






2. Now, use a different search engine and type in the same keyword. Did you get the same results as your first search? List the first three results from this search. (3 points)






3. You would like to narrow your search on this topic.
a) You want to look for information on this topic's history, but you don't want to include any information that pre-dates 1975. What Boolean operator would you use? (2 points)






b) You want to look up information on this topic as it relates to the U.S. government. What Boolean operator would you use? (2 points)






4. From all of your cumulative search results, list three reliable sources that you've found.
a) Cite these sources in MLA format. (3 points)






b) How can you confirm that these sites provide information that is accurate, relevant, and valid? (3 points)

Answer 1

1. A browser is used to access websites and web pages whereas a search engine is used to search for particular information.

2. Indexing is the process by which search engines organise information before a search to enable super-fast responses to queries.

3.Search engines are used to find specialized data rapidly whereas web directory is used to find a list of different sites.

4. The working behind the PageRank algorithm is that a page with a large number of in- links(a link from an important page) to it, then its outgoing links to other pages also become important. It gives more importance to back links of a web page and propagates the ranking through links.

5. Look for Sites from Established Institutions 2. Look for Sites with Expertise 3. Steer Clear of Commercial Sites 4. Beware of Bias 5. Check the Date 6. Consider the Site's Look 7. Avoid Anonymous Authors 8. Check the Links

Step-by-step explanation: