Using a search engine as a tool in surfing the World Wide Web is just like having a card catalogue in a library.

The vast information accessible in the Internet could be of great use to a researcher when he/she knows how to make use of a search engine.

Although search tips differ from one search engine to the other, the basic information needed is the same -- always use specific words rather than general terms.

Punctuations are sometimes used during queries to make search more specific:

a. quotation sign to mean that the enclosed words mean part of a phrase like "The Vampire Chronicles".

b. the + sign to specify that the words must appear in each query result like American + pie