The image to the left is a model of this framed set of web pages. These three areas provide many ways to support and improve the process of searching for solutions to questions and problems.

 The notepad frame (upper left) holds the text "Type here" which can quickly be highlighted and deleted. Enter potential search terms, strategies and notes within the white textbox area in the upper left frame. The toolbox frame (lower left) provides a wide range of online search systems. The workbench frame (right) will display a selected item from the toolbox. Copy and paste terms as needed from the notepad area into the input fields of the web pages of search site in the frame on the right. Results can be pasted back into the notepad. Some web sites will appear in pop-up frames instead of the right frame. Click and drag on the frame borders between frames to resize any frame as needed.

Function

As the searching is underway, the grey text area can be used as a kind of notepad to hold additional keywords as they are thought of and to also hold information that has been copied and pasted from the search. It can also be used to keep running comments to the searcher about the search. This top notepad area will remain visible while the search toolbox choices under the text notepad area can be changed out using links at the bottom of the search toolbox area. There are three toolbox choices. They can be thought of as three drawers to the toolbox. These search tool drawers are stacked in priority order based on degree of human intelligence. Clicking something in a toolbox opens it in the rightmost frame. This right column area is the "live fire range" or workbench where search engines generally appear and can be used. Some systems do not allow frame display and open as an independent window.

When searching is completed, there are different options for capturing search progress. The data entered in the text area can be copied and pasted into a text editor such as Microsoft's Notepad or Macintosh's Simple Text. A word processor application could also be used and the information further organized with its outlining function. A sample search worksheet in Microsoft Word format is provided as a model of an organized way that searchers can show their work in extending the range of their searches. The information could also be pasted into an email message and sent to someone who needed the information or sent to someone who could provide some feedback on search problems such as a reference librarian.

There is no official upper limit on the number of characters that can be entered in the notepad or input text area other than the limitations of computer memory. Even though only a few rows show, the text area box will scroll as typing continues beyond the space that is made visible.

Rationale

Finding better ways to search is the motivation and rationale for this three frame design. This nested set of web pages addresses several major problems.

• Searchers often lack a strategic sense of priority and sequence in the selection of search systems, hence the top-down guiding nature of pyramid model.
• Their field of vision about available search tools is often too narrow which misses important resources, hence the extensive toolbox set of categorized and prioritized search options.
• They further tend not to think extensively enough about their search strategy terms. The text input box, thesauri page and music are intended to give the searcher pause and constant reminder to focus on some planning, thinking and vocabulary (search term) extension.
• Further, there is a general lack of knowledge about search technique, information validation, and capture and organization of information. A variety of help pages are included throughout to help with this general knowledge need.

Pyramid Model: Selection Priorities

In short, this strategy asks searchers to start with top level resources that provide the greatest amount of human intelligence and then work downward. The 3 layer model and information within each layer is organized or stacked by the "degrees of intelligence" integrated into the search systems. That is, start with the toolbox for the top of the pyramid, the person or brains layer, for access to people and then work downward. The second layer toolbox provides tools for finding citations which point to places which store and share information on shelves. The third layer provides access to things, the real "full-text" of things stored on hard drives on the Internet. The sequence can be summarized as person, place, and thing or brains, shelves, and drives or digital rolodex, physical library and virtual library.

The Search Strategy Terms: Pondering, Using and Saving

Searchers also need to try a wide variety of search terms across a number of different web search systems for the best results. Using the online thesauri is important to extending the range of terms being used.  Further, each search engine site only indexes a small fraction of the overall web, and each search system finds unique pages that other search systems do not. The multi-frame design makes it easy to keep extend the use of the same search terms across a number of varied search systems.

Searchers often fail to document their search activity. Consequently when they ask someone for help, they have no track record of what they have been doing. It becomes impossible to tell if they have chosen an inappropriate word or have been misspelling words or need a more sophisticated search strategy. This is especially true for the younger students engaged in searching. They too often cannot remember what worked and did not work in a previous search that they may need to repeat. The text area frame again proves valuable in making it easy to store search terms in progress and captured data until the completion of search activity. Storing this information is invaluable in enabling others to provide further guidance.

Search Knowledge

Help pages and explanation are found through out this design. Beyond the immediate needs of search, is a larger schema. Search is not an isolated event; rather it is just part of a larger mission of questioning, valuing and creative resolution. Links at the top of each search page lead to the larger CROP model for problem processing, its online tools, problem solving scaffolding and explanation of its design.

Summary

Users are encouraged to link the web pages of this design that seem most appropriate to assist the needs of the users of their own web site pages.

Parent frame - Page author's Office  Original design 9/30/03 | Updated March 2, 2005