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Plugin error: googlegadget (Plugin not found ../common/plugins/googlegadget.inc)

Plugin error: googlegadget (Plugin not found ../common/plugins/googlegadget.inc) 

Your assignment is to choose a topic relevant to your subject area and search for useful information on it using the three search engines. Please use the same search text on each search! You will use the basic and advanced searches. As you work, please answer the following questions on your wiki page for each search engine:

1. What is the text entered into the search box? Bill Gates
    
    
2. For the basic search, how many results are returned? 56 million (Google) 87 million (Yahoo!) 7.5 million (Ask)
    
    
3. Using the first 10 results, how many appear to be useful? 3 (Google) 2 (Ask) 3 (Yahoo)
    
4. Make links to three sites that appear to be useful.
    
   From Google:
   www.gatesfoundation.org/ www.microsoft.com/billgates http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg/default.mspx
    
   From Ask:
   www.microsoft.com/billgates/bio.asp www.gatesfoundation.org/
    
   From Yahoo: Same results as Google
    
5. Refine your search by using the advanced search features. What did you do to refine your search?
    
   I asked it to return items where topic is only in the title. I also tried returning only PowerPoint presentations.
    
6. Are the results returned significantly different in number or content? YES! Down to 414,000 in Google where the topic is only in the title.
    
7. Compare and contrast the homepages for each of the search engines. What features do you like/dislike about them? I like Google's Advanced Search better. It allows you to narrow down your results better. Yahoo is too commercialized. I like the way you can preview the web page on Ask before opening it.
    
8. Compare and contrast the results pages for each of the search engines. What features do you like/dislike about them?
    
   Google: Many more options for advanced searches. Also includes images, video, maps, etc.
    
   Ask: Ask will include ways to narrow or expand your search as well as images and videos on the same page. Advanced search was very limited.
    
   Yahoo: Commercialized and includes "Sponsored Results" as a form of advertising. It did yield good results though, much like Google's. It also allows you to limit your searches by domain which would be very useful in the classroom.
    
9. Which of the three do you find best? Google
    
   Why? Their Advanced Search is much more advanced than the others. I like the way you can search for a specifice file format such as spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentation.
    
    

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