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 alltheweb | Alta Vista | Best Information on the Net | Google | Lycos | Metacrawler | MeL Internet | Yahoo
 

SEARCH ENGINES

Please note that not all search engines are the same. There are a number of them that are “pay for placement,” meaning that the results you see are there because those sites have paid to come up first. Even on some of the more legitimate sites such as Google, the first few links may have the designation “sponsored links” attached to them. Some of the more unscrupulous engines either omit any kind of warning or give warnings that are very difficult to understand.
The Invisible Web
There is a portion of the Web, a very high-quality portion, which is "invisible" to the spiders that supply the databases of most search engines. The sites that comprise the invisible Web are generally of a far higher quality than the average Web site.

General Search Engines

alltheweb | Alta Vista | Excite | Google | HotBot | iLOR | Lycos | Webbrain

International Search Engines

Search Engine Colossus: International Directory of Search Engines

Meta-Search Engines

(These submit search to multiple other search engines.)
ixquick | Ask Jeeves | Dogpile | Metacrawler | Starting Point | Vivisimo

Special-Format Tools

Google Groups (search engine for discussion groups)
topica (search engine for newsletters and discussions)
BoardReader (search engine for message boards)

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SUBJECT DIRECTORIES                                                                                                                        

"Browsing" versus "Searching": Directories are generally organized so that you can browse through them in search of information. That means that you click through their hierarchy of subjects until you find what you want. Most also have search programs that let you enter terms and will then search through the subject hierarchy for you. These search programs vary in quality. If a search in a subject directory fails, try browsing.

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INTERNET INTRODUCTIONS & GUIDES

Introductions

Evaluating Sources

Footnotes & Bibliography for Internet Sources
Ask your instructor whether he or she has a preferred style.

Search Tools Features & Evaluations

  • Searchengines.com: Two sections in the left column are useful and instructive. Under "Search Engine Listings" use the drop-down menus to link to various types of search engines and directories. Under "How to Search the Net" learn to improve your searching skills
  • Search Engine Watch: From the basics to the latest and most advanced: everything you wanted to know about search engines. Refine your skills with the "Tutorials" in the "Resources" section.
  • Search Engine Showdown: Excellent all-around guide to searching the Web. Check the "Search Engine Chart" under "Features" for info on Boolean searching, truncation, field searching, sorting, etc.
  • Meta-Search Engines: An evaluation, with chart of features.
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