Search
Engine Comparisons:
Search
Engine Comparisons:
|
Search Engine Comparison Chart: Find it on the Web Using the Search Concepts You Already Know, William H. Weare, Jr. |
|||||
| Search Concept | Example | Ask | Live Search | Yahoo | |
| Phrase Searching | "Des Moines River" | Enclose phrases in quotation marks | |||
| Natural Language | Who won the Oscar for best actress in 1980? | Delivers the answer to simple queries above the search results | User must click on results to find the answer. | Delivers the answer to simple queries above the search results. | User must click on results to find the answer. |
| AND (Boolean Operator) |
chronic child malnutrition
chronic AND child AND malnutrition |
Keying AND is unnecessary - it is the default operator | |||
| OR (Boolean Operator) |
lawyer OR attorney | OR needs to be in upper case between search terms | |||
| NOT (Boolean Operator) |
Virginia Woolf -Wikipedia Virginia Woolf NOT Wikipedia |
Use "-" before term to be excluded | Use "-" before term to be excluded | Use "-" or NOT (upper case) before term to be excluded | Use "-" or NOT (upper case) before term to be excluded |
| Nested Search | career AND (mortician OR undertaker OR "funeral director") | Nested search does not work | Parentheses are not necessary | Put the Boolean OR operator in parentheses | Parentheses are not necessary |
| Proximity | whitewater ADJ rafting promotion NEAR tenure online W/2 directory | Proximity operators are not supported | |||
| Single-letter wildcard | wom?n | Single letter wildcards are not supported | |||
| Full-word wildcard | "Stopping By * on a Snowy Evening" | Full-word wildcards are not supported | Supports use of full-word wildcard | Full-word wildcards are not supported | Full-word wildcards are not supported |
Weare, William H. Jr. (2008 March). Technology Connection: Find it on the Web
Using the Search Concepts You Already Know. LMC: Library Media Connection.
Vol. 26 No. 6, p. 56-58.
| + operator | Alexander +"The Great" | + operator supported | + operator supported | + operator supported | + operator supported |
| - operator | cola -pepsi | - operator supported | - operator supported | - operator supported | - operator supported |
| & operator | chronic child malnutrition +chronic +child +malnutrition |
Keying & is unnecessary - it is the default operator | |||
| ~ operator for synonyms | ~automobile | Does not support use of ~ synonym operator | Supports use of ~ synonym operator | Supports use of ~ synonym operator | Does not support use of ~ synonym operator |
Above section not part of William H. Weare Jr. article...
Another comparison is available from Berkeley for Google, Yahoo! and Ask.