Subject Searches

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For general browsing, see also the Subject Indexes section. The main trick to doing World Wide Web searches is using the right search tool for the task and for using key words that are in use enough to find your topic but not return excessive hits. Search tools are gaining features rapidly so the notes provided here may not always be completely relevant. Key words like "computer" and "network" will be useless because of the number of uses the search may find.  Only selected search tools index all words and can find "to be or not to be" as a phrase.  Learning the search syntax for the various tools is also helpful since conditional (Boolean AND, OR, AND NOT, NEAR) searches may be done using many of the tools. For new users, single word searches are the easiest. List based searches are done on announcements (typically via Usenet) provided by WWW page owners. Spider (robot) based searches look at key words returned by robots that scour the WWW looking at pages. Catalog searches typically cover indexes of a specific WWW site or set of services. Many additional searches are pointed at specific targets.  Spider based searches tend to have the best general coverage.  Database searches tend to have the most narrow coverage but may provide depth.   The Spider's Apprentice--Tips on Searching the Web likely has better, and more up to date, reviews than I can keep up with here.  See also:  Search Engine Watch: News, Tips and More About Search Engines.

SINGLE INDEX SEARCHES - Searching by key word, key words, or phrase.

Use multiple search engines if you don't find your desired items using one search engine. Search engines may only index a portion of the Web.

• Google is a top search engine of Web pages.  This one should be my favorite as it has relevant hits in good sort order based on popularity.
• Alta Vista Search or Raging Search  (uncluttered interface) is my favorite search engine though it may not be the top available.  Additional search tips are available to make the best use of searches. You can find phrases (use the double quotes) such as "to be or not to be that is the question" (most search mechanisms don't track the small words).  Boolean operations, available for the advanced search, include: AND, OR, NEAR, AND NOT.  Capitalization  and parenthesis can influence hits as well.  Example search:  "Better Business Bureau" AND (consumer NEAR awareness).  Example sort:  Better Business Bureau Dayton Ohio consumer.
• HotBot. Unique in that it can find specific materials by technology (e.g. JavaScript or Shockwave is on the page) or by specific site classifications (e.g. www.zdnet.com or .edu).  Can also select file type such as MP3 or video files.
• Excite Search includes News search capabilities with a decent Web search engine.
• Yahoo Guide searches the (big!) Yahoo site (not the Internet).

DATABASE SEARCHES - Selecting specific searches.

Use these when the above return to many hits or hits unrelated to your desire.

• search.com provides links to searches available in hundreds of databases.
• All In 1 Search Page provides links to searches available in hundreds of databases.
• Eureka! lists search engines including those for specific fields. Reviews of engines provided.

META-SEARCH ENGINES - Searching by key word, key words, or phrase using multiple search engines. Having trouble finding something? Try this one stop approach! Accesses multiple search engines/databases/mechanisms and returns hyper-links.

Use these if the single indexes didn't get enough hits.

• A9 searches multiple sites and returns a lot of info.  Even searches inside books.  Also searches products.
• MetaCrawler Power Search includes the databases of many popular search engines.  Searches can be narrowed to categories such as MP3 files, images, newsgroups, and auctions.
• About.com - The network of sites led by expert guides. The personal touch to usable searches.  Assistants help guide the search in an attempt to provide usable results.  Ask Jeeves is a part of this site and features full English sentences for inquiries.
• WebCrawler (dead? 5/6/08).

SEE ALSO - Additional search engine pointers.

•  Search Engine Watch: News, Tips and More About Search Engines likely has better, and more up to date, reviews than I can keep up with here.
• The Spider's Apprentice--Tips on Searching the Web likely has better, and more up to date, reviews than I can keep up with here.
• My Virtual Reference Desk - My Search Engines contains pointers to many search engines.

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