You will
find soon enough that search engines on the
internet can be a powerful tool in your
search for family history. Because most of
them have such an enormous index of
information, searches for surnames and family
names can result in useful information. You
see, search engines get their indexes from
"spiders" that explore websites and index
words that are in the pages. They are doing
this constantly and thus will be able to help
you find the information about your family
you are looking for, hopefully.
There are drawbacks to using a search engine
for your search. The same thing that makes
them great can also make them a source of a
lot of frustration for you as you trace your
family's genealogy. There are so many results
that are possible when using a search engine
that there is no way you can figure out which
sites are good ones for what you need and
which are not. So unless you enjoy having to
search on hundreds of thousands of links
yourself, you can find search engines to be
as frustrating as anything. Here are a few
tips, though, to making your search engine
search a positive experience as you put
together a family tree.
The first step in using a search engine to
its fullest potential with your genealogical
search is to know your search engine math.
The math refers to the use of two operators:
add (+) and subtract (-). Proper use of these
symbols in a search engine can make your
search much easier. Most search engines
support them and they are much easier for
most people to learn or keep track of than
the traditional "Boolean" operators, like
AND, NOT, and OR. When you use the + symbol
you are telling the search engine to find
sites or pages that include each word
connected by the symbol. If you use the -
symbol, you will be telling the engine to
look for sites with the first word, but not
for sites with any words following the
symbol.
Another valuable search engine technique is
the use of wild card searches. Wild card
searches are those that allow you to enter a
certain character (can be a % or * in many
cases) in order to expand your search to
plurals and spelling variations of the word.
Many names are spelled a number of ways, and
in fact many families were very loose with
how they spelled their names if you go back a
few generations. If you are able to
effectively use wild card searches then you
will be able to include these variations and
find everything you need. You will also save
yourself time by not having to search each
and every spelling of every surname for which
you are searching.
Once you have wild card and search engine
math down pat, then you can start to narrow
your searches other ways. First, consider
including given names with surnames in order
to get more specific hits. Looking up Fred
Murray is bound to get you more pertinent
sites than just searching Murray. Also, try
looking at searching for names in your family
that are not as common. This will help you to
narrow your search even further. In addition
to using given names with surnames, try
including place names. If you look for your
family name, a given name, and then where
that person was born you are much more likely
to have a return on your search that will
help you than you are if you do not specify.
You may find a number of returns that are not
of the person you are looking for, whereas if
you use a place you are much more likely to
find out what that person did in that area
and thus have more information.
Using search engines can be a great way to
get your genealogy search going. The massive
amount of information available through
websites, though, can make using them
somewhat daunting. To make them more useable
and focused, try centering your searches with
some of the tips above. Learn your search
engine math and understand how to narrow a
search when you use it. Before you know it,
you will be a search engine wiz.
About the Authors:
Paul Duxbury and Kevin Cook own http://www.amateur-genealogist.com
and http://www.our-family-trees.co.uk
two of the leading Genealogy Websites. In
addition Paul owns a wide range of exciting
websites which can be viewed at http://www.our-family-trees.co.uk
Article
Source: http://www.genealogysearchaustralia.com.au
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