MAJOR SEARCH ENGINES
Altavista
Excite
Google
HotBot
Lycos
Northern Light
SUBJECT DIRECTORIES
About.com
Open Directory Project
Yahoo
META SEARCH
AskJeeves
Ixquick
Metacrawler
SPECIALIZED SEARCH
Amazing Picture ...
Broadcast.com
Earth Cam
Hoovers Companies
Internet Movie Database
Medscape
EVALUATING AN INTERNET SITE
 If you have not
found what you're
looking for in the
first 20 or so hits,
do another search.
|
|
Before you start, ask yourself, "Is the Internet my best source?" If you're not sure, ask a librarian. Librarians are research specialists who can lead you to the most appropriate database.
To the left is a selection of key search engines
from our librarians. Want a map of the Internet? Try Map.net
KEYWORD SEARCH
| +cars +automobiles +price +MSRP |
Be specific when searching. Use plenty of keywords to
narrow your search. The word AND
between words requires that all of your keywords must
be somewhere in each Internet document. Check your
spelling.
FAST ANSWERS
Use a metasearch engine such as Metacrawler
for a quick answer to a question.
Because they check several search engines at a time,
metasearch engines are often very effective in finding facts.
Can you think of an organization which might have
information on your subject? Put phrases in quotes.
| "American Cancer Society" AND tobacco |
SUBJECT DIRECTORIES
Real live experts have categorized these sites by broad
subject heading such as travel or biology. When browsing
these webliographies, try broader categories.
NATURAL LANGUAGE
Just ask your question in your own words in AskJeeves.com.
The results can be uncanny.
| How can I find out the MSRP for a Honda Accord? |
SPECIALIZED SEARCHING
If you want information on a disease, try a search tool
devoted to health issues such as Medscape.
If you are looking for a movie review, go to the
Internet Movie Database.
PICTURES AND MULTIMEDIA
The Internet has so many great images, but finding just the
right one can be daunting. The Amazing Picture Machine
has images classified by type of picture. Google also has an excellent image search.
Altavista has quite sophisticated multimedia searching.
Choose images, video, or audio.
| "Thomas Jefferson" AND NOT Monticello |
Eliminate terms which you do not want to appear by using
AND NOT.
|
