Some Popular search engines

Alta Vista - http://www.altavista.com/

HotBot - http://www.hotbot.com/

Metacrawler - http://www.metacrawler.com/

dmoz - http://dmoz.org/

Lycos - http://www.lycos.com/

Infohiway - http://www.infohiway.com/

Infoseek - http://infoseek.go.com/

Web Crawler - http://www.webcrawler.com/

Yahoo - http://www.yahoo.com/

Galaxy - http://www.galaxy.com/

Ask Jeeves for Kids - http://www.ajkids.com/

Google - http://www.google.com/

Northern Light - http://www.northernlight.com/

SearchPort - http://www.searchport.org/

Excite - http://www.excite.com/

Web Surfer - http://www.gowebsurfer.com/

Yahooligans - http://www.yahooligans.com

Snap - http://www.snap.com/

Searchopolis - http://www.searchopolis.com/

Ask Jeeves - http://www.askjeeves.com/

Go To - http://www.goto.com/

The Big Hub Mega-search- http://www.thebighub.com/

Search.com - http://www.search.com

Splat Search - http://www.splatsearch.com/

LookSmart - http://www.looksmart.com

Info Probe - http://www.infoprobe.net/

Direct Hit - http://www.directhit.com/

LinkCentre - http://linkcentre.com/

OmniSeek - http://www.omniseek.com/index.html

Pegasus - http://pegasus-searching.hypermart.net/

Advanced Search Methods

Searching for phrases (words next to each other)

When searching for a phrase such as better business bureau or san francisco 49ers, where you want the words in that order, just enclose the phrase in quotes. A search on san francisico 49ers returns all pages with any or all of those words, in any order somewhere on the page (with pages containing all the words ranked higher). But a search on "san francisco 49ers" just finds pages with that exact phrase on the page.

Using plus (+) and minus (-) signs

These signs tell our search engine which terms must (+) and must not (-) be present in the returned documents. When using these options, do not leave any space between the sign and the word.

Plus (+)

If you put a plus sign directly in front of a word, all the documents most search engines retrieve will contain that word. So if you search for +billiards +rules, you'll be sure to get the rules of the game. Remember, you must mark each word appropriately to have these tools work. For instance, if you type billiards +rules, all of the documents returned will have "rules" in the text, but not necessarily billiards.

Minus (-)

If you put a minus sign directly in front of a word, most search engines will NOT retrieve documents containing that word. So if you search for +billiards -equipment -supplies, you'll be spared the billiards-related documents that emphasize equipment and supplies.

Using Boolean Operators

Boolean operators tell most search enginesŸ concept-based search mechanism to turn off and allow you to search for documents that contain exactly the words you are looking for. Boolean operators include AND, AND NOT, OR, and parentheses. These operators must appear in ALL CAPS and with a space on each side in order to work.

AND

Documents found must contain all words joined by the AND operator. For example, to find documents that contain the words "wizard," "oz," and "movie," enter:

wizard AND oz AND movie

OR

Documents found must contain at least one of the words joined by OR. For example, to find documents that contain the word "cat" or the word "kitten," enter:

cat OR kitten

AND NOT

Documents found cannot contain the word that follows the term "AND NOT." For example, to find documents that contain the word "pets" but not the word "dogs," enter:

pets AND NOT dogs

( )

Parentheses are used to group portions of Boolean queries together for more complicated queries. For example, to find documents that contain the word "fruit" and either the word "banana" or the word "apple," enter:

fruit AND (banana OR apple)

Types of searches:

1.        Single word - using a single word to search. All search engines support this type of search.

2.        Match Any - when you want pages that contain any of your search terms. Most of the larger search engines support this type of search without you having to do anything. These search engines include Alta Vista, Excite, Go To, Infoseek, Snap, WebCrawler, and Yahoo. Hotbot and Lycos allow you to do this but only through the advanced search menus.

3.        Match all - a search for pages containing all of your search terms, rather than any of them. Most all search engines support this type of search using the + symbol. Some search engines will perform a Match All search by default. They include Google, Hotbot, Lycos, and Northern Light.

4.        Exclude - Most of the search engines allow you to exclude documents that contain certain words. The best way to do this is by using the - command, which is supported by most major services.

5.        Phrase searching - searching for a series of terms in the exact order typed. Example, œwindows 98 bugs” will search for pages containing the terms windows 98 bugs in that order.

6.        Title - a search for certain words in the title of a web page. These search engines support title searching: Alta Vista, Go To, Hotbot, Infoseek, Lycos, MSN search, Northern Light, Snap, and Yahoo. Title:Terms At Lycos you would need to do this the the advanced page and at Yahoo you need to use the t: command.

7.        Site - the ability to control which sites are included or excluded from a search. Different search engines use different commands to accomplish this.

8.        URL search - search with the text of a URL, very similar to a site search.

9.        Proximity - search for words that are close to each other. Using the NEAR command.

10.     Wildcards - Searching for plurals or variations of words using the wildcard character. * Some of the major services offer this type of searching. These are: Alta Vista, Hotbot, MSN search, Northern Light, Snap, and Yahoo.

11.     Boolean - a search allowing the inclusion or exclusion of documents containing certain words through the use of operators such as AND, NOT, and OR.

12.     Fuzzy - a search that will find matches even when words are only partially spelled or misspelled.

Why canŸt I find what I want?

Glad you asked! There is an assortment of reasons that you may not be able to find what you want and only a few of these have to do with you or the way in which you are searching. Remember when reviewing this list that our goal is a general awareness of potential problems and not mastery (it's a long list!). Underneath a potential problem, I've suggested a quick fix, which may help. 

SEARCHER ERROR:

• incorrect spelling/typo (you'll find Web pages with the same typo!)
  one of the most common problems and easy to remedy
  (e.g. searching for "stacks" instead of "stocks") 
• poorly described or conceptualized topic
  know what you are looking for, and if this is not possible, know what you are *not* looking for (eliminate if necessary)
  (e.g. searching for "something on tobacco" instead of "tobacco and government subsidies") 
• query is too general
  narrow your focus
  (e.g. searching for "cars" instead of "Toyota Camry 1998") 
• query is too specific
  broaden your search using synonyms or larger categories
  (e.g. searching for "flashing lime green stop sign in a gif format" instead of "stop signs and gif" 
• search syntax is wrong or does not perform the way you expect with the search tool you are currently using
  review the "help" pages of the search tool you are using

BEYOND YOUR CONTROL...

Note: no one web tool catalogs, indexes or organizes the whole web. When using a web finding aide it is important to remember that you are searching and viewing data extracted from the web, which has been placed into a database. It is this database, which is actually searched -- not the web. This is one of the reasons why you get different results when you use different search engines. 
 
 

Sometimes you will find things that are not what you actually want, but according to the search facility you are using, they are on target. This may happen because: 

• The "hit" (web site presented as a match for your terms) contains the search terms but they have multiple meanings
  (for example: Blues can mean music or depression, depression can describe a mental illness or a dimple in a cake...)
• the search engine may index every word on pages so general queries bring up a lot of documents where the search terms happen to occur in the text
  (for example, documents about a topic tend to repeat key words and phrases several times, not just once)
• the search engine combines terms in a way you don't expect
  (for example, you enter the search terms "new" and "york" expecting documents that contain *both* terms and the search engine presents you with documents that have *either* "new" or "york" )
• the search engine assigns a high "relevancy ranking" to the document but it is not on (your) topic
  (each search engine uses a different algorithm or method of computing something called "relevancy." Relevancy is an estimate regarding how closely the search results match your search terms or concept. Search results are usually presented with the top ranked in relevancy first.)
• the search engine misinterprets your "concept"
  (some search engines will search or expand by "concept" or in other words, its interpretation of your terms)
• the search engine does not actually search for some of your terms
  (for example, search engines will not search for many commonly occurring terms because of their frequency. The "stop" words dropped from the search may affect your results.)

Sometimes you will not find anything remotely on target: 

• Remember you are searching a database, not the web
  (perhaps the document(s) are not (yet) included in the database you are searching -- try another search engine)
• It may be that in the results list there is a web site which perfectly meets your needs, but you do not find it because it was not assigned a high relevancy ranking or assigned a strange ranking by the search engine
  (sometimes this occurs when you find a lot of "hits" -- try using a search engine that groups results in some manner)
• Sometimes case sensitivity is an issue
  ( you may need to search again using a different "case" -- especially with proper names -- different search engines tackle this problem differently)
• Perhaps you are using the wrong "syntax" for the search engine you are using
  (by using + and - signs, or field labels such as url: or ti: you can make your search more specific. Unfortunately, the way these signs/labels are used varies among the search utilities)
• If you are using a specialized search tool, perhaps it is not the right one for your information need
  (if you are looking for information in the Arts, an search engine specialized in the Social Sciences will not be of much help)
• if you are looking for a kind of non-textual media such as images or sound, these present special challenges
  (because words function to describe a picture, for example, you must rely on the information given by the cataloger who provides the keywords which are used to find them)

Evaluating What You Find (Tips for Selecting Resources)

Why evaluate?

The Web is a self-publishing medium; this means that anyone with a computer, a modem and Internet access can publish ("mount") a web page or site. Anyone can publish anything -- and remember, there is no such entity as the "Internet Police."
 

How do I know what to look for?

Assuming that you find something that seems as if it might fit your information needs, you may wish to consider the following points to evaluate the resource:

• Who sponsored or created the site? Why? (for what purpose?)
   
• If you know this, you can make intelligent assessments about any potential bias
  (For example: if the NRA publishes a site on Gun Control, the point of view or bias for or against the issue would be different, perhaps, to an article published in a web site with a focus on Parenting)
   
• Also related to bias or perspective are issues of authenticity and credibility -- is the information true, accurate and believable?
  (For example, usage statistics for a new drug might be more reliable coming from a government web site rather than those offered by its manufacturer)
   
• A quick clue as to the source of a web site is the domain (in the url or "address")
  (For example: .edu means either an educational or affiliated institution, .com means commercial enterprise (which may have a financial reason for promoting a product or site), .gov means government agency, and .org means organization)
   
• Homepages of individuals are frequently identified by a ~ (tilde) sign in the url
  (For example: http://www.fakehomepages.net/~elkordy) (Note: many individuals have constructed very useful sites -- don't overlook *all* personal web sites)
   
• Information about the publisher of the web site can usually be found at the top and/or bottom of the page
  Be especially wary of sites in which the author or sponsoring organization is not clearly stated or there is no contact information provided
   
• What is the reason for mounting the web site? Remember that the motivation behind the site in part dictates the approach and tone of the content
  (For example: to function as a resource? for public relations? to promote a cause? to show long-distance relatives wedding or baby pictures? as a teaching aide?)

• Who is the intended audience?
• Although not always true, often language is a good clue to the targeted audience. If you are looking for general information on a topic, a site written for professionals in the field or scholars may not be helpful. Similarly, if you are looking for the latest research on a topic, a consumer-oriented site will probably not provide it.
   
•  Does it contain accurate information that is useful?
• Now that you have ascertained that the site was mounted by a reputable organization, written in the level and language you need, you are well on your way to determining if the site is useful to you.

Additional considerations:

•  When was the site last updated? Is that important to your topic?
• Most well tended sites will clearly state when the content was last updated. Sometimes frequent updating is essential (for example, at news sites or where the information changes rapidly). Sometimes this is not a priority -- such as with online texts or with historical or archival data.
   
• Would a traditional print source or specialized computer database be more appropriate for your needs?
• If you are looking for academic research in particular, you may have better results searching in a database indexing articles published in professional journals -- in other words, information, which has been reviewed by other professionals in the field.
   
• Is the site easy to use?
• If the site is difficult to navigate, it may be hard to extract any information. Some of the more annoying or cumbersome features include: new browser windows opening unexpectedly, annoying color schemes, tiny graphics for buttons, and flashing buttons and the use of frames (for page layout).

Tips for Selecting Resources:

To summarize, be especially wary of a web site in which:

• the identity of the creator or sponsoring body is not clearly stated
• the page does not seem to be connected to an overall site (no header or footer information, no way to return to a "main" page)
• it is not clear when the site was last updated.