Where to Start Searching

Where to start searchingThe Internet can be valuable source of information, but sometimes it is hard to know where to start searching. There are several different types of search tools you can use to help you find what you are looking for on the World Wide Web

Types of Search Tools:

Search Engines	Subject Directories	MetaSearch Tools
All the Web	About.com	Clusty
Alta Vista	Best Information on the Net	Dogpile
Ask.com	Google Web Directory	Excite
Google	Infomine	Ixquick
HotBot	Librarians' Internet Index	Metacrawler
Live Search	Open Directory Project	Search.com
Lycos	Yahoo Directory	SurfWax
Yahoo

What is the Difference Between Types of Search Tools?

Search Engines are databases created by computers using an automated process. "Web spiders" or "crawlers" search web sites and add the information to the database. They attempt to provide comprehensive coverage of the Web, and do not evaluate the sites added to the database.When to Use Search Engines? Use search engines when you are looking for a narrow, specific topic, or a particular document or web site. Most search engines have help links that will give you in depth information on available searching features.

Subject Directories are databases created by people who evaluate the sites that are added. They are arranged by subject categories, and are usually also searchable by keyword. Some subject directories also rate the quality of the sites they index.When to Use Subject Directories? Use subject directories when you want broad coverage of a topic. Directories will provide you with a list of web sites dealing with a particular topic, rather than just links to individual pages within sites. Directories are also useful if you want to see sites that have been evaluated by individuals knowledgeable on a particular topic. Often when using search engines for a subject search, you end up with many documents that are not relevant, or don't provide much content. A subject directory will help you find more content-rich, quality web sites on your subject.

MetaSearch Tools search several of the different search engines at one time, and provide you with results. This may sound like a great way to search, but you only get about 10% of the results from any individual database searched. When to Use MetaSearch Tools? Use MetaSearch tools when your topic is specific, and you want to get a sampling of what information may be available, or what results your keywords might return. MetaSearch tools can be used for quick searches, but if you don't get results, start with one of the good single search engines like Google.