Guide to Research Online

Looking for Information

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Search Engines
Search Directories
All-in-one Searches

Search Engines
The most common way of finding information on the Web is to use a search engine. Search engines rely on computer programs called robots or spiders, which crawl the Web visiting sites. The words found on each page at every Web site are logged by the robot or spider into a database. When you type a word into the search "box," the search engine scans the database and returns a file with links to all the Web sites that contain the "keyword" you typed in. Because the databases are huge, a search can return a list of thousands of Web sites. But there are ways of refining the search.

FOR EXAMPLE: You are looking for information on Gothic fan vaults.

If you simply type into the search box the words Gothic fan vault, the search engine will return every page on which one or more of these words appear. Because each of these words can occur in many other contexts other than the one you are interested in, the search will return many irrelevant sites. You can narrow the search in the following ways:

• To conduct a SIMPLE SEARCH on AltaVista, for example, use plus signs ("+") before each word: +Gothic +fan +vaults The search engine will return only pages on which all three words appear. A minus sign ("-") before a word will tell the search engine to ignore pages on which that word appears. The plus and minus signs are alternatives to the "Boolean" operatives of "AND," "OR," and "AND NOT," which are used in an ADVANCED SEARCH.
• To conduct an ADVANCED SEARCH on AltaVista, for example, use the word AND between each word: Gothic AND fan AND vaults The search engine will return only pages on which all three words appear.

  Another way to significantly narrow the search is to place double quotation marks ("...") around the phrase.

• To conduct a SIMPLE SEARCH on AltaVista, for example, type in "Gothic fan vaults" The search engine will return ONLY pages on which this phrase appears. This type of search can be further refined by truncating words using an asterisk (*) to find variant forms of a word.

• For example: vault* will find both vault and vaults.

  Search Engines: Most search engines also provide a directory of links compiled according to subject.

• AltaVista
• InfoSeek
• HotBot
• NorthernLight
• Excite
• Google
• Lycos
• WebCrawler
• 4anything
  
  

  Meta-Search Engines:

  Meta-search engines search other search engines! Meta-search engines provide a quick way to determine which of the search engines are retrieving the best sites for what you are looking for:

• Ask Jeeves
• Dogpile
• Chubba
• MetaCrawler
• ProFusion
  
  

  Search Directories

  A search engine searches by keyword. A search directory, in contrast, is a program designed to search databases set up by subject. A search directory conducts a hierarchical search, starting with generalized subject headings and then moving down into more specific subheadings. These searches are usually called "subject searches" since they search subjects rather than keywords. Directory search engines use both keyword and subject search methods. They appear very similar to keyword search engines but are very different in how they organize information about sites.

• Yahoo
• Nerd World Media[NOTE: NerdWorld sells top placement in its categories, so be aware that a site listed as preferred has paid for that position.]
• open Directory Project
• About.com
  
  

  All-In-one Searches

  All-in-one search pages provide forms on their site for submitting searches to individual search sites.

• Skworm
• Langenberg
• Beaucoup
  
  

  For listings of other search engines, see:

• Search Engine Colossus
• Search Engine Guide
  

  Using search engines and search directories to find information can be frustrating since the search engines search the entire Web for relevant keywords. To help focus your searches, use the following links for more specific guides to locating what you are looking for in art history.