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The FOIOTI Internet Searching Page |
Page last modified: 09 February 2009 |
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The FOIOTI Internet Searching Page |
Page last modified: 09 February 2009 |
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FOIOTI: Finder Of Information On The Internet
Have
you also been frustrated while searching for information on the
Internet? Most of the time you get either 5 million answers back
(of which none are relevant), or simply no results at all! FOIOTI
was designed to assist the average Internet user in locating specific
information, without getting bogged down in syntax rules, search
engine programming, etc. It is part of a Ph.D. thesis in Information
Science.
The only thing FOIOTI cannot help you with, is to figure out exactly what you are looking for. A short specification like "I need information on America" is not good enough. Something like "Who was the President of the USA in 1980?" is much better, since it contains a number of specific detailed elements. All you have to do, is complete the five empty white boxes inside the grey box below, and click on one or more of the search engine buttons at the bottom. Enjoy it! This page was designed for use with Internet Explorer 4.0 and higher. Netscape users might find that the FOIOTI program consistently produces no results from the Search Engines, or that it is not visible as a grey box with white text boxes below. Some programs (eg. Google's TOOLBAR) disable popup advertisements. FOIOTI sometimes refuses to work when popups are disabled - please enable them before using FOIOITI. |
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Finder Of Information On The Internet
The HELP below explains how you should use the FOIOTI program.
You must type the FULL specification of what you want to search for into this box. If your specification is too short, you might have trouble in filling in the other boxes. Since the search will be done in English, you must say EXACTLY what you will be looking for, and your spelling must be correct.
| BAD EXAMPLE | REASONS | GOOD EXAMPLE |
| Unix operating system | 1.
Too vague! What is it that you want to know about the Unix operating
system? A search engine will supply either far too many or no
answers to this specification!
2. The last two words are unneccesary - the word "Unix" is not common and is obviously an operating system. |
I need to print out a tutorial on the commands and syntax of SCO Unix |
| HTML programming and Java scripts | 1.
Too vague! What is it that you want to know about HTML and Java?
A search engine will supply either far too many or no answers
to this specification!
2. You are searching for two different topics in one operation - do one at a time! |
I need source code examples of Javascript programs which could be used in feedback forms on the Web |
| Queries in Acess | 1. Too vague! What
is it that you want to know about Queries? A search engine will
supply far too many answers to this specification!
2. Spelling mistake (Access)! A search engine will probably ignore the 2nd part of your specification, and return hits only on Queries, which will cover a much wider area than what you expected. |
I need a tutorial on how to create a Query based on a table in Microsoft Access. |
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CAPS
BOX
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You must type one word here which normally contains one or more capitals. Once again, your spelling must be correct.
| BAD EXAMPLE | REASONS | GOOD EXAMPLE |
| MICROSOFT | 1. Although not misspelt, this word is not normally spelt this way. | Microsoft |
| sql | 1. Although not misspelt, this acronym is not normally written in lowercase. | SQL |
| E.D.I. | 1. Although technically probably more correct, the full stops are left out in normal use. | EDI |
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PHRASE
BOX
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You must type two words here which have a special meaning when used together, than when used apart. Once again, your spelling must be correct.
| GOOD EXAMPLE | REASONS |
| computer virus | 1. "computer" on its own will probably return millions of hits about many aspects of computers, while "virus" will return many medical and biological sites. However, when used together, the two words have a special meaning. |
| Powerpoint animation | 1. Although "Powerpoint" will probably return some relevant sites on its own, they will not neccesarily be on animations. "animation" On its own might return sites about children's cartoons, but together the two words have a special meaning. |
| object oriented | 1. Once again, "object" alone will return many irrelevant answers, but the two words together refer to something very specific, and has a higher chance of success than when they are used separately. |
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WORD
BOXES
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You must type in two separate words, one per box, which have not been used in any one of the other boxes. However, they should still be related to your topic - do not use common words such as: is, and, this, information, the, program, system, computer, etc.
If your original search specification is too short, you might have trouble in finding two useful words! In such a case, rethink and rewrite your specification.
| EXAMPLES | REASONS |
| computer program | 1. Too general! There are probably millions of sites containing these words. |
| asembler instructions | 1. A good choice, but misspelt (assembler). . |
| Pascal code | 1. Both "Pascal" and "code" are words normally associated with computers, and will assist in finding relevant sites. |
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TIPS
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Your aim when using FOIOTI should be to obtain between one and about fifty hits. If you manage that, it means that you have narrowed your search down very effectively. The chances are very high that you will find what you need amongst the first 10 hits!
IF ONE OF THE FOIOTI SEARCH ENGINES PRODUCES ZERO ANSWERS, TRY THE FOLLOWING:
1. Click on your Browser's BACK button to get to FOIOTI, click on a different Search Engine button and try again.
2. If you still have a problem, Click on your Browser's BACK button to get to FOIOTI, type in different words in the boxes, and try again.
3. Still zero answers? Try cutting out one word from the phrase box at a time - search again!
4. If you STILL receive zero answers, the chances are that you made a spelling mistake in one of the boxes! Please check!
IF ONE OF THE FOIOTI SEARCH ENGINES PRODUCES MORE THAN FIFTY ANSWERS, TRY THE FOLLOWING:
5. Click on your Browser's BACK button to get to FOIOTI, click on a different Search Engine button and try again.
6. If you still have the same problem, Click on your Browser's BACK button to get to FOIOTI, type in more specific words in the boxes, and try again.
7. Still more than fifty? Add one more sensible word to the phrase box, and try again.
HOW TO INCREASE THE OVERALL SEARCHING "SPEED":
8. After filling in all the FOIOTI boxes, you could click on more than one Search Engine button. Although it might take longer to load, you will have a wider spectrum of answers to choose from.
9. Do not sit and wait for the computer! Switch between the different Search Engines continuously, until you start receiving answers back.
10. If you use more than one Search Engine, always click on them from fastest loader first to slowest loader last, ie: first Google, then Hotbot, then Excite. When you now go back to the first loaded one (which should almost be ready with answers by now), the slower ones have more time to load and you will spend less time waiting.
11. Consider the time of day when doing extensive searching. Almost all Search Engine sites are in the USA, so try to do searching while the Americans are sleeping! For example, if you are in Africa, Europe or the UK (all are more or less on the same timeline), do your searching between 8 am and 1 pm. It will be between 2 am and 7 am in the USA, and your response will be much faster than at about 3pm and later!