The material on this page is from the source: Beginner 1: Picking the right search terms
Search Terms: the individual or set of words used to query a search engine.
As a student you will need to develop the ability to choose these terms to achieve the best search results for your needs.
Example #1
For each of the searches, notice the number of results and the number of poor results on the first page of results.
Question 1:
The Back Story:
A student is studying a Percy Jackson novel and needs the answer to the question "what food does Tyson like best?"
Question
What food does Tyson like best?
Enter into search bar
What food does Tyson like best?
tyson favorite food "percy jackson"
Question 2:
The Back Story:
A friend really liked a Eric Walters novel with a main character named Ethan, but could not remember the title of the book. What is the title of the book?
Question
What is the title of the eric walters book where ethan is the main character
Enter into search bar
What is the title of the eric walters book where ethan is the main character
"eric walters" ethan character
Question 3:
The Back Story:
You have a cow with blisters on its tongue. What wrong with it?
Question
My three-year old cow has blisters on its tongue. What's wrong with it?
Enter into search bar
My three-year old cow has blisters on its tongue. What's wrong with it?
cow tongue blisters
Question 4:
The back Story:
Question
Can people earn money for tossing pizza dough?
Enter into search bar
Can people earn money for tossing pizza dough?
professional pizza toss
Your turn to decide on search terms
I heard there is an abandoned city in the San Francisco Bay. What is it called?
What is the name of the area below the nose and above the lip?
What is the name of the thing that hangs down at the back of the mouth?
A multi-step search maybe required:
Search 1:
Are there any diseases that involve the area below the nose and above the lip?
Search 2:
Find the medical name for the the area below the nose and above the lip.
Search 3:
Now search again for diseases that involve this area, but this time use the correct medical name for this area.
Notice how different the results are.