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Recommended General Search Engines [2/10]
The following search engines are recommended for academic research:

Google
URL: http://www.google.com
One way to limit results for use in college is to choose "Advanced Search" to the right of the search box. Scroll down to "Domain" and add the extension ".edu" in the appropriate box. Or from the drop-down menu, choose "don't" and add the extension ".com" in the appropriate box. There are many other options. Ask the Reference Librarian.
[2/10]
All the Web
URL: http://www.alltheweb.com
Search with more than one search engine all at the same time.
[2/10]
Alta Vista
[2/10]
URL: http://www.altavista.com
Ask.com
[2/10]
URL: http://www.ask.com/
Ask is currently merged with Teoma.
Bing
[2/10]
URL: http://www.bing.com
Cuil
[2/10]
URL: http://www.cuil.com
Search results appear in the main portion of the screen and subject categories based on search appear in the right-hand column.
Dogpile
[2/10]
URL: http://www.dogpile.com/
Search Google, MSN, Ask, Yahoo all at the same time.

Excite [2/10]
URL: http://www.excite.com
Yahoo!
[2/10]
URL: http://www.yahoo.com/


Internet Search Tips
Search engines are used to locate web sites and documents on the Internet. Google is recommended as the primary search engine, but many others are available. If you are using Google and cannot find what you are looking for, try some of the search engines above. Some search engines filter through a number of other search engines simultaneously.

The following tips will be helpful when using a search engine:
  • Spelling counts -- a misspelled term will not retrieve much information.
  • Be specific when entering search terms -- very broad terms like "psychology" will return far too many hits to be useful.
  • But... don't be too specific -- an extremely narrow search which includes too many words is not likely to retrieve the information that you need.
  • Do use some of the search tips that are provided on each search engine's web site. They provide some effective strategies for getting the information you need more quickly and efficiently.

Fine-Tuning your Searches
The search strategies listed below can help you construct searches that get you fewer "hits" and more accurate results. These tips work with most search engines, but not all. Consult the help or tutorial information for each search engine to get the most out of your searches.

•To search for exact phrases, put multiple search terms in quotes.
Example: "state of the union" will only search for web sites that contain that exact phrase.

•To specify that a word or phrase must be included in search results, put a plus sign (+) in front of the term that must be included.
Example: snake +python will force a search to include the term python.

•To specify that a word or phrase must not be included in search results, put a minus sign (-) in front of the term that must be excluded.
Example: snake -monty will force a search to exclude the term monty.

•To include all forms of a word (wildcard matching), place an asterisk after a truncated form of the word. Example: medic* will retrieve results with the words medicine, medical, medicinal, etc.


Subject Directories [2/10]
Subject directories are useful web sites arranged by subject and selected by editors based on specific criteria for inclusion. For a more detailed explanation of subject directories, go to Lesson 3 of Bare Bones 101.

About.com
URL: http://www.about.com
Google Directory
URL: http://www.google.com/dirhp?hl=en
Open Directory Project
URL: http://dmoz.org/
Yahoo! Directory

URL: http://dir.yahoo.com/


Library Gateways (aka Virtual or Digital Libraries)
Library gateways are websites arranged by subject and usually selected by librarians for the high quality of their content. For a more detailed explanation of library gateways, go to Lesson 4 of Bare Bones 101.

Academic Information
URL: http://www.academicinfo.net/
An educational subject directory with hand selected sites.
[2/10]
Big Eye

URL: http://www.bigeye.com/
Well organized information portal and Blog Index.
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Digital Collections and Content: Digital Resources from Libraries, Museums and Archives [IMLS, Institute of Museum and Library Services]
URL: http://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu/
“Includes collections from model projects supported by IMLS that help preserve library resources, develop best practices for digitization, and digitize collections of national value." Excellent resource.
[2/10]
Digital Librarian: a Librarian's choice of the best of the Web
URL: http://www.digital-librarian.com/
Carefully selected links by Librarian Margaret Vail Anderson.
[2/10]
Librarians' Internet Index
URL: http://lii.org/
Well respected, long-standing publicly funded evaluated resources.
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refdesk.com
URL: http://www.refdesk.com
Linked resources, dating from 1995. Bob Drudge.
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The WWW Virtual Library
URL: http://vlib.org/
"The VL is the oldest catalog of the web, started by Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of html and the web itself. ...the VL pages are widely recognized as being amongst the highest-quality guides to particular sections of the web."
[2/10]
Those Dark Hiding Places: The "Invisible Web" Revealed
URL: http://www.robertlackie.com/invisible/index.html
Good explanation of hidden sources on the web, and search engines and directories that show different results. Robert J. Lackie, Associate Professor-Librarian, Rider University.
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Other Useful Search Engines
Each of these search engines may give you different results. If you have a particularly challenging topic, it would be wise to try a variety of searches.

Ask.com
URL: http://www.ask.com
A natural language search tool. Good for trivia.
[2/10]
A9
URL:
http://a9.com
An interesting search engine from Amazon.com, also allows for "search inside the book™" if registered with amazon.com. [2/10]
BUBL Information Service: BUBL Link
URL: http://www.bubl.ac.uk
Selected Internet resources covering all academic subject areas.
[2/10]
Complete Planet
URL: http://www.completeplanet.com/
Search the Deep Web with this meta-search engine. Discover over 70,000+ searchable databases and specialty search engines. [2/10]
Dogpile
URL: http://www.dogpile.com/
Searches multiple search engines or directories, good people search.
[2/10]
Findhow.com: the how-to search engine
URL: http://www.findhow.com/
Mission: "To empower people to achieve success at every task, in whatever role and stage of life they are in, by simplifying and speeding access to trusted, reliable How-To content on the Internet." Privately held small company.
[11/09]
Gigablast
URL: http://www.gigablast.com
One novel feature is the archived web pages from 1996 forward.
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Go Network
URL: http://infoseek.go.com
Standard search engine, part of the Disney enterprise.
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Google Scholar
URL: http://scholar.google.com/
Search for scholarly articles across numerous college catalogs.
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Hakia
URL: http://www.hakia.com/
Search results are grouped by Web, News, Blogs, hakia Galleries, Credible Sources, PubMed, Twitter, Video, and Images.
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Infomine: Scholarly Internet Resource Collections
URL: http://infomine.ucr.edu
Searches academic sites.
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iTools [2/10]
URL: http://www.itools.com/
Excellent grouping and quick access to search tools for financial tools, Map tools, Internet tools, Search tools, and more.

MetaCrawler
URL: http://www.metacrawler.com
Searches multiple search engine.
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Soople
URL: http://www.soople.com
Soople claims their interface makes searching easier than Google.
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Search Engine Directories

These sites provide lists of specialized, subject-specific search engines.

Aabe's Planet Search
URL: http://business.fortunecity.com/nicholas/546/aabemain.htm
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Beaucoup!...the ultimate source of free information
URL: http://www.beaucoup.com/

[2/10]
Search Engine Guide
URL: http://www.searchengineguide.com/
Considered a complete guide to search engines as there is search engine news, marketing, books & services, and internet search engines categorized by topic.
[2/10]


Search Engine Resources and Tutorials

Evaluating Web Resources
Critically Analyzing Information Sources
URL: http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill26.htm
Assessing the value and point of view of information sources, Cornell University Library.
[2/10]
Evaluating Information Found on the Internet
URL: http://www.library.jhu.edu/researchhelp/general/evaluating/index.html
What to consider (about websites): authorship, publishing body, bias, currency, verifiability, more.
From The Sheridan Libraries of Johns Hopkins University.
[2/10]
Evaluation of Information Sources
URL: http://www.vuw.ac.nz/staff/alastair_smith/evaln/evaln.htm
A bibliographical listing of articles related to evaluation. The World Wide Web Virtual Library.
[2/10]

Using Search Engines
Bare Bones 101: A Basic Tutorial on Searching the Web
URL: http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/bones.shtml
Great information for experts and beginners alike. University of South Carolina, Beaufort Library.
[2/10]
Choose the Best Search for Your Information Need
URL: http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information
/5locate/adviceengine.html
Noodle Tools offers suggested search engines for different types of information.
[2/10]
Finding Information on the Internet: A Tutorial
URL: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html
Sarch strategy, search tools, evaluation skills. University of California, Berkeley.
[2/10]
Search Engine Watch
URL: http://searchenginewatch.com/
Information on getting the most out of search engines, search engine reviews and ratings.
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Searchpath (Western Michigan University)
URL: http://www.wmich.edu/library/searchpath/index.html
Interactive tutorial on searching the Internet, includes modules that describe a range of resources, give tips on choosing a topic, finding articles, using the Web effectively, and citing sources. Each module concludes with a quick quiz to test mastery of module content.
[2/10]
Those Dark Hiding Places: The "Invisible Web" Revealed
URL: http://www.robertlackie.com/invisible/index.html
Learn about searching for information that regular search engines will not find.
[2/10]
Web Searching
URL: http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/clips/2002_12.html
Learn to be an effective web searcher. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
[2/10] information, [still valid 11/06]

Search Engines for Images

All the Web [2/10]
URL: http://multimedia.alltheweb.com/?cat=img&cs=
utf8&q=&rys=0&_sb_lang=pref

Altavista [2/10]
URL: http://www.altavista.com/image/default
Amazing Picture Machine

URL: http://www.ncrtec.org/picture.htm
As of 2005, this site is being decommissioned.
[2/10]
Corbis
URL: http://pro.corbis.com
Royalty free, but need to be purchased. Inspiring photography.
[2/10]
Digital Collections and Content: Digital Resources from Libraries, Museums and Archives
[IMLS, Institute of Museum and Library Services]
URL: http://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu/
“Includes collections from model projects supported by IMLS that help preserve library resources, develop best practices for digitization, and digitize collections of national value." Excellent resource.
[2/10]
Google Image Search
URL: http://images.google.com/
Image search.
[2/10]
Image and Sound Databases
URL: http://sunsite2.berkeley.edu:8088/ERF/servlet/ERFmain?
cmd=searchResType&resTypeId=14
Complete listing of databases for images (and sound)- some are password protected, many available to the public. University of California Berkeley.
[2/10]
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: National Image Library

URL: http://images.fws.gov/
DLS: Digital Library System. Click on free images by topic. Your country's dollars at work.
[2/10]


Search Engines for Video

Bing [2/10]
URL: http://www.bing.com/videos/browse

Google [2/10]
URL: http://video.google.com
Play Audio Video
[2/10]
URL: http://www.playaudiovideo.com/index.htm


Search Engines: Comparisons of Specialized Search Types

  Web Images Video Audio News Maps Yellow/White Pages Blogs Twitter
All the Web
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X
 
 
X
 
 
 
 
Alta Vista
X
X
 
 
X
X
X
 
 
Ask
X
X
X
 
X
X
 
X
 
Bing
X
X
X
 
X
X
 
 
 
Dogpile
X
X
X
 
X
 
X
 
 
Excite
X
X
X
X
X
 
X
 
 
Google
X
X
X
 
X
X
 
X
 
Hakia
X
X
X
 
X
 
 
X
X
Metacrawler
X
X
X
 
X
 
X
 
 
Soople
X
X
X
X
X
 
X
 
 
Yahoo!
X
X
X
 
X
X
 
 
 

Library Resources

Print materials are being updated regularly.

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Last updated February 23, 2010