Internet and Web Searching Guide
Overview
Provides quick access to selected Web search engines, subject directories, metasearch and invisible search engines, and a guide to search engines. Provides brief description of each resource.
Web Search Engines
Google Currently the largest and most popular search engine for the web. Return set is ranked by relevancy. Advanced ways of searching available.
Ask This was the original "natural language" search engine, known as Ask Jeeves, and is still one of the best. There are several choices such as Web search, Images, News, and Blogs.
AltaVista One of the first major search engines with entries dating back to 1980. Both a simple and advanced Web Search with options for Images, MP3/Audio, Video and News plus a translation tool called Babel Fish and a useful internal toolbar.
AlltheWeb Powered by Yahoo, this engine now has a Google-like search box as well as advanced search options, pictures, and media searching.
Vivisimo Powerful search engine, first available in 2000, with ability to cluster Web search results. Will provide document clustering through an internal algorithm called Clusty linked from the Vivisimo home page.
Scirus Searches over "450 million science-related Web sites," including .edu sites; locates peer-reviewed, full-text articles not found by other search engines; and selectively identifies "deep" scientific, scholarly, technical, and medical data on the Web.
Web Directories
Open Directory Also known as dmoz, "the Open Directory Project is the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web." Constructed and maintained by over 75,000 volunteers.
Yahoo Directory The oldest Web directory is still one of the best and now uses its own search engine. Also, Yahoo provides a standard Web search engine at AlltheWeb--see listing above for direct link.
If you use the advanced search, you will go directly to the Web search screen.
About.com Has general portal page with selected categories on the left and a detailed Browse by Topic search link that provides major categories along with often requested search topics.
IPL Internet Public Library
The Internet Public Library is a searchable directory by categories plus a "Grok" the IPL (clustering) and traditional search. The directory has subject collections, ready reference, a "reading room," KidSpace, TeenSpace, special collections, searching tools--each of which has multple links to Web resources.
Librarians' Internet Index
A searchable, annotated subject directory of tens of thousands of Internet resources selected and evaluated by librarians.
MetaSearch and Invisible Web Engines
Beaucoup! Lists over 2,500 search engines, directories and indexes. Click on a category to find searchable sites about your subject.
Dogpile Dogpile combines several search engines into one, including Google, Yahoo!, and Ask Jeeves.
Academic Index "A free metasearch engine and virtual reference desk accessing tens of thousands of academic reference and research sites recommended by teachers and librarians."
Web Site Analysis
Pandia "Pandia is a gateway to Web searching, and can offer you several sections devoted to Web search tools and resources, search engine news and reviews."
Ask A Librarian
Laurel A. Grotzinger
laurel.grotzinger@wmich.edu
269-387-5418
Last updated: November 2008