In this
exercise, you will use a search engine to locate a criminal justice website and download a
file. For more on using the Internet to search for criminal justice-related information,
visit the Allyn & Bacon website at this
link.
Search engines come in two flavors. Web
indexes are computer-generated databases containing structured information on web
pages, Usenet newsgroup articles and e-mail addresses. Web indexes may be searched by
keyword, plain English phrases and search operator (special characters used to restrict or
expand the search, like the " mark). The keyword is typed into a text box appearing
on the web index page. The user then clicks a "send" or "submit"
button. The web index searches the entire web for URLs and e-mail addresses, then
retrieves all relevant links.
Web directories are
hierarchically organized lists of websites, Usenet newsgroup articles and e-mail
addresses. They may be searched in exactly the same manner as web indexes. This means you
may conduct a keyword search or click on a predefined lists of topics. Many users find
this technique easier than a broad keyword search. Most web directories are similar to
library computer card catalogues. You simply click on the topic that you are interested in
and a list of related links are generated.
If you plan on creating your own website and
want your site listed with a web directory, you must submit your site location (URL) to
the web directory. More information on this is included in the Allyn & Bacon Quick
Guide to the Internet for Criminology and Criminal Justice.
The following are four popular search
engines:
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Excite and Yahoo are web directories. Hot Bot
and Alta Vista are web indexes. In the following exercise you will search Yahoo, find the
Federal Bureau of Prisons website, and download a file to your hard disk drive. Before
beginning any exercise, please 1) print out a copy of this exercise as a reference or 2)
open a new web browser by clicking on File from the menu bar, then selecting New
Web Browser from the menu list. Switch to the web directory exercise in the new
browser. You now have two copies of the same webpage on screen. This will ensure that you
will have instructions available as you complete the exercise.
Step One: Click on the above
"Yahoo" icon. You may also click on the Netscape Net Search Button, scroll down,
and then click on Yahoo from the list of search engines.
Step Two: Click on the following links
in sequential order. About halfway down on the first page, click on Government.
Another page will appear. Find and click on Law. Follow the same procedure
for the next three links: Criminal Law and Justice, Criminal Justice,
and Federal Bureau of Prisons. In some cases you might have to scroll down
to find the appropriate link.
Step Three: Click on the Documents
link found on the Federal Bureau of Prisons page. Next you will find the Civil
Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act link. Click on this link. If this file is
not available, click on another file available at that location.
Step Four: Download the file. To do
this, click on File on the menu bar, then Save As from the menu list. You
will be prompted to save the file on your computer's hard disk. I recommend saving the
file in your Netscape directory or the directory on your hard drive in which you
ordinarily save your working files. You may open this file from your hard drive using any
wordprocessing program, such as Microsoft Word.
Congratulations! You have downloaded and
saved your first file from the web! Now you may use Yahoo to find files on your own.
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