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Internet Search Tools
Search the major search
engines, metasearch engines,
web directory tools and
'invisible' deep web resources from this
page.
Search Engines
By submitting a query you are in fact searching an engine's
database for relevant matches rather than searching the web in real time.
However, the major search engines are the first place you should look for
answers to a specific query. They maintain the most comprehensive and
frequently updated database information about web documents and the
textual content within them. Using more than one, often pays dividends, as
identical queries often generate different results when tried elsewhere.
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Metasearch Engines & Metacrawlers
As mention earlier, using more than one search engine often pays
dividends as identical queries often generate different results when tried
elsewhere. Metacrawlers allow you to do just this, quickly. They query
multiple search engine databases at once, combine the results and return
them to you in one convenient list.
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Web Directory Tools
Traditional subject directories differ to search engines and
metacrawlers in that they rely on real people to populate and manage their
databases rather than computer programs.
Websites (generally the homepage
only) are placed in subject categories which are organized in a
hierarchical way. Users can either browse through the categories or search
by keyword.
While the human factor tends to ensure the inclusion of
websites rich in authoritative quality which are highly relevant to a
subject theme, it can also be limiting in that search queries that are
'too' specific can return limited results.
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Open Directory Project
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Yahoo •
Looksmart
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CompletePlanet
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Lycos |
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The Invisible
Web
The majority of information available online CANNOT be found via
the major search engines! A whole host of databases, web pages, websites,
and image files are not listed because either they cannot be spidered or
because search engines choose not to include them in their indexes.
Unfortunately it means many invaluable resources are
difficult to locate e.g
Subject Guides - Web resources dedicated to cataloging hyperlinks
to web pages about a particular subject.
Reference Works - Generally self contained documents that may not
contain hyperlinks to other resources. For example dictionaries,
encyclopedia and maps.
Specialized Databases - Self searchable indexes that catalog
information such as patents, medical journal article citations, company
financial data an so on.
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Effective Techniques |
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Our quick reference
guide helps you generate the most relevant results from your search queries.
Offering tips, advice and advanced techniques.
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