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Search Relevancy - Exercise

Initial Search Experience: Part 1

Objective:Practice searching with a variety of advanced techniques

Scoring

This exercise is not scored. It's an opportunity for you to check your understanding of the material covered in the preceding lesson. When you are finished, click the Submit button to view the suggested results.

Background/overview
At this point, you have a number of advanced searching techniques to use on searching problems. You can use any combination of Boolean operators, symbols in search queries to search for a phrase, require and exclude words or phrases, and techniques for limiting the data to be searched (if the search service provides for it).
You are ready to apply these techniques to day-to-day information needs--for yourself or for others.

Instructions
Beginning with this exercise, you may use your choice of directory, search engine, or metasearch engine.
If you have bookmarked (or added to Favorites) any of the link sites referred to previously, you may use them as well.
Use your knowledge of searching techniques to answer these questions:
  1. What are the national holidays in Switzerland?
  2. Which European international airports have direct train connections?
  3. What famous author's last words were "Go away. I'm all right"?
  4. Which countries are hosting the 2004 Summer and 2006 Winter Olympic Games?
When you are finished, click the Submit button to view the suggested results.

Hints
If you are not getting any results, or the results are not providing the information you need, try a different search service or try varying the words in the query.

Reminder
Referring to a hard copy of an exercise can be helpful if the exercise is long or has many steps. You may want to consider printing the exercise.