The University of South Carolina Beaufort

ASK : A Closer Look

Ask debuted in 2001 and was purchased by Ask Jeeves later that year. Although it supports only limited Boolean searching, it has recently added an advanced search page with improved searching features. Ask also offers a new approach to displaying search results by putting them into what it calls Web communities: Results (relevant web pages), Refine (suggestions to narrow your search), and Resources (links to collections of experts and enthusiasts).

SEARCHES IN:
Own database for Web searches

DEFAULTS TO:
AND

Supports (+) and (-) signs
Supports double quotes (" ")

Supports Boolean-type searches using drop-down menus for "all the words," "exact phrase," "Must have," "Must not have," and "Should have."
Supports limited Boolean queries using operators "AND" and "OR" or "ORR." (Operator must be in all upper case.)
Allows searching "Anywhere on page," "In page title," and "In URL."
Provides language search options with matching character sets
Allows domain or site searches
Supports geographic regional searches
Allows searches by date page modified anytime within past two years

Does not support truncation at this time
No case sensitivity; search terms entered in lowercase, uppercase, or mixed case all get the same number of hits
Shows "Sponsored" links before listing search results
Maintains a stop word list; will not search for stop words unless typed as part of a phrase within quotation marks or preceded by the (+) plus sign

To see how Ask's search results are displayed three ways, go to the Main Search Page, and search for: sopranos

Troubleshooting Clusty

[Table of Contents] [Search Engines] [Metasearchers] [Subject Directories] [Gateways & Databases] [Evaluating Web Pages] [Search Strategies] [Search Tips] [Boolean Operators] [Field Searching] [Troubleshooting] [Ask] [Clusty] [Dogpile] [GigaBlast] [Google] [MSN Search] [Yahoo!] [Graveyard] [Final Exam] [Beyond Bones] [User Agreement]

Last updated by E. Chamberlain,Thursday September 07, 2006