Search Engines and Web Searching

	Top Ten Tips for Searching the Web
10	Just because you find it on the web does not mean it is true or accurate!
9	Narrow your searches to be more successful by using " ", + or - signs or other Boolean Logic formats. Visit the specific search engine's help or advanced searching section for more information to improve your chances of finding information you want.
8	Choose the best search engine(s) for the job. Try more than one search engine and compare results. Don't forget to use sites maintained by reputable experts such as the electronic databases found at InfOhio (including Britannica,SIRS & EBSCO).
7	Just because an item is listed first does not mean it is the best resource. In fact, on many sites the first 5 to 10 entries are there because their owners paid the search engine company to put them there!
6	Pay attention to the addresses of sites, especially the part following the "dot" which gives some indication of type of site (.com, .gov, .edu, .net, etc.).
5	Sites with very similar names are easily confused. Some parties prey upon the searchers with these sound alike sites or take over abandoned domain names.
4	Sites with a "~" character in them are usually personal opinion sites even if the rest of address points to a university or other usually reliable source of information.
3	Get to the "root" of the site. Starting from the right, delete parts of an address to get to main or sponsoring site. For example- starting with http://www.uakron.edu/biology/bathpres.html, takes you to the Bath Nature Preserve, removing "bathpres.html" takes you to the Biology Dept and removing "biology/bathpres.html" takes you to the University of Akron main home page.
2	Learn how search engines work and about the search engine industry. Remember most are there to make money!
1	Research the sites that you find. Who runs the site, how reliable is the information, is it out of date, does it contradict other reliable resources, how has the site changed over time, etc.

A Few Quick Comments about
Searching the Internet & Search Engines

Search Engines are a Business- they usually are attempting to make a profit through advertising, memberships, sponsorship and/or as part of a Portal.

Search Engines are constantly changing- new ones arrive, old ones disappear, features change, searching rules change, databases change. So the one that is right for you today maybe different tomorrow.

Try a few different search engines with the same lookup word(s) and compare the different sites found to get an idea of what can best serve your needs.

"Kid Safe" sites, although having less information, eliminate most objectionable sites and may be a better choice for younger children.

Remember just because you can find it on the web, it may not be accurate or factual. Learn how to evaluate author(s), source, validity, relevance and timeliness . Use of professional librarian or media specialists guided sources such as InfOhio, On-line Encyclopedias, etc. can help assure validity.

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www.digital-librarian.com

Search
Engine Name-

Address-

Uses-

Google

www.google.com
www.google.com/advanced_search

General Search Engine with highly rated search relevance marks.
Using this Advanced Page makes it easier to what you are looking for.

Ask

Previously know as
Ask Jeeves.

www.ask.com

www.ask.com/webadvanced

"Plain Language Inquiries" a semi-meta search engine.
It also provides "prompts" to assist you in targeting your search.
Previously know as Ask Jeeves.

Ask for Kids
Previously know as
Ask Jeeves for Kids.

www.askforjkids.com

A "kid safe" version of Ask Jeeves.

Answers.com

www.answers.com

Based on an Encyclopedia/Dictionary format.
A collection of 4 million answers is drawn from over 60 titles from brand-name publishers, plus original content by its own editorial team.

Alta Vista

www.altavista.com

One of the first. Good for non-indexed items- personal names, snippets of info, mailing list traffic, etc. (now owned by Overture)

Yahoo

www.yahoo.com/

One of busiest search engines, with large volume of indexes.
But it is actually more of a Portal with search engine capabilities added on.

Yahooligans

www.yahooligans.com

A "kid safe" version of Yahoo. Also a kid oriented Portal

MetaCrawler

www.metacrawler.com

Meta Search Engine (gather results from many web search engines by using one single search)

ixquick

www.ixquick.com

Meta Search Engine (gather results from many web search engines by using one single search)

Dogpile

www.dogpile.com

Meta Search Engine (gather results from many web search engines by using one single search)

Librarian's
Internet Index

http://lii.org/search

Access to a number of different search engines including Library Search Tools. (Also know as lli or formerly as Librarian's Index to Internet or lii)

Invisible Web Directory

www.invisible-web.net

(temporarily out of service as of 01-21-08)

If you can't find it via a search engine, try here!
A listing of web directories & indexes. Includes access to many sites that search engine robots ignore or can't find. Most are free, but some either limit your searches, require a fee and/or require you to register to use them.

Clutsy

Previously Vivisimo

http://clutsy.com

Metasearch tool that presents search results in "clusters" by subject.
Titles of the clusters are display to the left of search results allowing you to easily navigate from one cluster to another.

Web Brain

www.webbrain.com

Search Engine with Visual Mapping. Unlike any other web searching site. You can navigate to subject by "drilling" down in broad categories. Each click results in a revised web map.

Open Directory

www.dmoz.org

Completely commercial-free,volunteer led directory. Very dependent on individual web page authors submitting information to be listed. Many extensive lists of links by topic.

The happy star logo (at left) indicates the Web Master's personal picks as the "Current Top Stars in Web Searching Tools"

The world of search engines and web searching changes almost daily so today's top picks may soon be replaced by new rising stars (at least temporarily!)

Specialized Search Engines

Address

Uses

A Listing of Specialized S. E. Based on Subject

http://searchenginewatch.com /links /
article.php/2156351

A listing of some specialty search engines for specific subjects from Search Engine Watch.com

AnyWho

www.anywho.com

Find phone numbers, addresses and other information for businesses and individuals. Also includes yellow pages, white pages, toll free phone numbers and reverse telephone lookup. Find people, their address and phone number. International Yellow Pages.

CompletePlanet

www.completeplanet.com

"The Deep Web Directory" Access to over 70,000 public databases

Digital Librarian

Librarian’s view of best links for research.
Very good for Academic subjects

Google Images

http://images.google.com

Search for Images on the Web

GPO Access

www.gpoaccess.gov

U.S. Government Publications since 1994.
A service of the U.S. Government Printing Office

How Stuff Works

www.howstuffworks.com

Their motto-- "How Stuff Works, It's Good to Know"

iEarn.org

www.iearn.org/

Nonprofit global network that enables young people to use the Internet and other technologies to engage in collaborative educational projects

InfoMine

http://infomine.ucr.edu

Scholarly Internet Resources

Invisible Web Directory

www.invisible-web.net

(temporarily out of service as of 01-21-08)

If you can't find it via a search engine, try here!
A listing of web directories & indexes. Includes many access to many sites that search engine robots ignore or can't find. Most are free, but some either limit your searches, require a fee and/or require you to register to use them.

lii.org-Librarian's Index to Internet

http://lii.org/search/file/searchtools

Access to a number of different search engines including Library Search Tools

MagPortal.com

www.magportal.com

Magazine Search engine (searchs archives for specific magazines)

Map Quest

www.mapquest.com

Find Maps & Driving Directions. Also Yellow Pages and Travel Planner

NARA (US National Archives & Records Administration)

www.archives.gov/search

Primary Source Documents for Study of US History. Many of items found are not available via most other search engines.

High Beam/
Researchville

www.highbeam.com

Search for Breaking News in Context. Can simultaneously use up to 7 popular search engines. (portions require membership fee)

Scirus

www.scirus.com

Search tool for Scientific & Technology Information only

Search Engine Colossus

www.searchenginecolossus.com

International listing of Search Engines. Global searching with national & regional search engines in over 190 countries.

Singingfish

www.singingfish.com

Multimedia searches, music, lyrics, video, etc. (Now part of AOL)

Statistical Resources on the Web

www.lib.umich.edu/
govdocs/stats.html

Search for Statistics. From the University of Michigan

Technorati

http://technorati.com

Search over 60 million Blogs or as they refer to it the "World Live Web"

Think Quest. org

www.thinkquest.org

Not really a search engine, but has extensive lists of projects and pages created by student worldwide

Web-O-Pedia

www.webopedia.com

Search engine for computer & web technology, a techno-geek's delight!

Who Is.net

www.whois.org

Search Domain Names. Find out who or what group is behind that page you just found. Search for trademarks, web hosting sites, deleted domains and available domain names.

The happy star logo to the left Indicates
the Web Master's personal picks as the
"Current Top Stars in Web Searching Tools"

The world of search engines and web searching changes almost daily so today's top picks may soon be replaced by new rising stars (at least temporarily!)

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Sites About Search Engines	Address	Uses
Search Engine Watch. com	http://searchenginewatch.com/facts	Web Searching Tips, Search Engine Listings, Reviews & Ratings, Submission Tips and Search Engine Resources (Warning the site is sponsored by a commercial search engine optimize company)
Search Engine Show Down	www.searchengineshowdown .com	Search Engine Comparisions, News, Features, Analysis, Opionions, Statisitcis and more. "The User's Guide to Searching"
SearchEngines. com	www.searchengines.com	A view from the other side of your computer screen. Learn how companies optimize their sites to rank high on search engine results. "SearchEngines.com is a resource for industry and manufacturing professionals who are interested in online advertising and search engine marketing."
The Spider's Apprentice	www.monash.com/spidap.html	"The Spider's Apprentice, Spidap, is not another search engine. Our purpose is to help you understand and use search engines. How do they work? Why do certain results come up frequently and others not at all? Which search engines are most useful and efficient? How can you improve your searches and find what you want more easily?"
Site Pro News	www.sitepronews.com/index.html	Geared to businesses that host commercial sites and marketing a web site
Overture.com	www.overture.com	Search engine "Pay to Play"
Google Zeitgeist	www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html	Lists most popular words being searched at Google. "Zeitgeist: Search patterns, trends, and surprises"
Lycos Top 50	http://50.lycos.com	Lists top 50 entertainment terms being searched for at Lycos (Music, Movies, Celebrities, Sports, etc.)

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