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Navigational Tools for the Web
Typically, search engines focus on Web resources, but other domains are sometimes included (e.g. Usenet). These search engines have software programs (sometimes termed robots or spiders) that systematically search the Web for pages, index the words on that page, and add the indexed information to a database which can be searched and results accessed. The indexing for most of these is key word, and may include all the words in the text or selected words. Various searching capabilities exist among the different search engines. This guide lists eight major search engines: Ask, Exalead, Gigablast, Google, Google Scholar, Live Search, Wisenut and Yahoo!. For more information on specifics on searching, check out the help pages for each search engine. For an overview of search features, see the Search Engine Showdown's Search Engine Features Chart.
These directories categorize resources on the Web by subject areas. In order to do this, each site has been reviewed by an individual, and the appropriate subject category is chosen for that resource. The total number of pages in these directories will be much less than for most of the search engines, but you have additional assurance that a person considered the site worth listing. The search engine Yahoo! has subject categories as well as web page searching.
No search engine has every web page, or Internet site, in its database. When first exploring a topic, experts advise trying more than one search tool, and viewing the first few pages of the results. Then go on to another. There are some systems, called meta-search engines, that help you do this by searching more than one search engine/ directory at a time. These are good places to start. To be more specific or more comprehensive in your searching, search each search tool separately. Searching each search tool separately allows you to take advantage of the advanced search features available from each search engine and view more results than meta-search engines retrieve. See Search Engines.
Some web sites are actually databases that create responses "on the fly", and cannot be queried successfully by search engine robots. Other web sites are search engines or directories that focus on a specific interest or discipline rather than "all" the web, sometimes called vertical portals. These "specialized search engines" may be identified through search tools designed to track them down. The following site is an excellent compilation of many of these specialized tools. This service provides reviewed resources, and identifies sites with academic merit.
Find a word for which you are unsure of its meaning? Try out this site: Page Creator: Beth Brin,
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