The Basics:
The NCTE Search works like most search engines, including Google. Type in a few descriptive keywords and press Enter (or click the Search button) for a list of relevant Web pages on the NCTE Web site. Only Web pages that contain all of the words you entered will be returned; however, you can refine or narrow your search by adding more specific terms.
Keyword Selection:
For best results, it's important to choose your keywords wisely. Keep these tips in mind:
Try the obvious first. If you're looking for information on the elementary grade levels, enter only "elementary" and not "grade level."
Use words likely to appear in the section with the information you want. "NCTE 2005 Annual Convention" will return better results than "this year's member meeting."
Make keywords as specific as possible. "NCTE Annual Fund" will produce more relevant results than "giving donations."
Automatic "and" Searches:
By default, the NCTE Search will only return results that include all of your search terms. There is no need to include "and" between terms. Keep in mind that the order in which the terms are typed will affect the search results. To restrict a search further, simply include more search terms.
Automatic Exclusion of Common Words:
The search engine ignores common words and characters such as "where" and "how," as well as certain single digits and single letters, because they tend to slow down your search without improving the results. The NCTE Search will indicate if a common word has been excluded by displaying details on the results page below the search box. If a common word is essential to getting the results you want, you can include it by putting a "+" sign in front of it. (Be sure to include a space before the "+" sign.) Another method for doing this is conducting a phrase search; put quotation marks around two or more words. Common words in a phrase search (e.g., "where are you") are included in the search.
Variations and Capitalization:
Searches are NOT case sensitive. For example, searches for "NCTE," "ncte," and "NcTe" will all return the same results. Additionally, wildcard searches are not supported. In other words, the search looks for exactly the words that you enter in the search box. Searching for "book" or "book*" will not yield "books" or "bookstore." If in doubt, try both forms.
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Introduction:
The NCTE Advanced Search gives you a variety of additional options to narrow your search of the NCTE Web site. Instead of simply a basic keyword search, the NCTE Advanced Search also allows you to search for items with specific keywords, with a specific phrase, with at least one keyword, or without a keyword.
Search a Specific Site:
The NCTE Search searches files on both the NCTE Web site and on ReadWriteThink (a partnership between NCTE, the International Reading Association, and the MarcoPolo Education Foundation that provides quality practices and resources). In the “Site” drop-down box in the Advanced Search, you can specify one of the two particular Web sites to search.
Select “NCTE” in the “Site” drop-down, and you also have the ability to search a specific portion of the NCTE Web site—search according to site section, level, constituent group, or publication type.
Additional Search Options:
Through a drop-down box next to the “Search” button, the Advanced Search allows you to determine the number of results that will display on a page.
You can also specify the type of file to search. By selecting an option from the “File Type” drop-down box, you can search for only html files or PDF files.
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