Unit 3 Concepts:

"Search engine" is just Web-speak for a site that allows you to search the Web for information about a particular topic. The programming of these sites is quite complex, but using the engines is fairly straightforward.

There are three basic types of search engines -- keyword, subject-tree, and metasearch -- and you'll want to try each kind to see which best suits your needs. No two are exactly alike. Each one indexes different numbers and kinds of Web sites. Also, some search every word of each Web site; others search only "significant" words. Further, some provide subject areas for you to search; others ask you to provide the keywords to your topic.

Thus, search results using one engine may vary considerably from the results provided by another. So even if you find a search engine that you particularly like, it still makes sense to try at a least a couple of different engines when researching your topic.

Keyword engines ask you to type in a word or combination of words that describe your subject. The engine then searches documents for those particular words. Click here to learn how to use a keyword engine.

Subject Tree engines allow you to choose from a set of subject areas. Once you've chosen a subject, you'll get another set of sub-categories within that subject from which to choose. Click here to learn how to use a subject-tree engine.

MetaSearch engines search several engines at once. They might seem like the obvious, most comprehensive choice. But because they search many engines simultaneously, they may be a little slow. Also, given that they have to juggle the different engines' organizational systems, MetaSearch engines sometimes work best when searching for a single keyword, rather than for a combination of terms or a phrase. 

To see how search results differ from using the engines you've already tried, search for the terms <Educational Moos>, <"MUDS in education">, <Moos>, and <MUDS>.

Click here to try a MetaSearch engine.

How can I keep records of what I find?

- Whenever you find a site that looks promising for your topic, or that has promising links, make sure you bookmark it or write down its URL.

- To save yourself time later, jot down any bibliographical data (author, title, date, URL, etc.) you might need should you decide to refer to the Web site in your paper.

- Consider printing a page or pages of the Web site for future reference.

- If you're working with Netscape in the computer lab or library, bookmarking won't be of much use. But you can attach any Web page to a Netscape e-mail sent to yourself, available for you to access whenever you need it anywhere you can read your e-mail.

Here is a list of common search engines and their URLs:

Subject-tree:

Excite http://www.excite.com fast; large index; many features; searches by keyword and concept

Infoseek http://www.infoseek.com good variety of services

Lycos http://www.lycos.com backup to Hotbot; may be slow; includes site reviews; best for simple searches

Magellan http://magellan.mckinley.com good index; includes reviews and ratings of sites

WebCrawler http://WebCrawler.com smaller index, but fast

Yahoo http://www.yahoo.com reliable; fast; often recommended as a good starting place

Keyword:

Google http://www.google.com

alltheweb http://alltheweb.com/

AltaVista http://www.altavista.digital.com fast; comprehensive

AltaVista Basic Text-Only Search http://www.altavista.com/sites/search/text?raging=1

HotBot http://www.hotbot.com fast; easy; adaptable

Northern Light http://www.nlsearch.com large; fast; accurate; includes special collection of full- text articles

OpenText Index http://index.opentext.net small database, but sorts every word

Teoma http://www.teoma.com

MetaSearch:

Cyber 411 http://www.cyber411.com fast; accesses 15 engines

Dogpile http://www.dogpile.com fast; 23 engines; allows Boolean operators

MetaCrawler http://www.metacrawler.com/index.html may be slow; 9 engines

Profusion http://beta.profusion.com

Savvy Search http://guaraldi.cs.colostate.edu:2000/form offers search categories; may be slow; 20+ engines

all sites last reviewed August 2001

Not enough? To find more engines, try http://home.netscape.com/escapes/search/index.html

Unit 3 Assignment: Identify three Web sites applicable to your research topic by using one keyword search engine, one subject-tree search engine, and one metasearch engine. Send an e-mail to your instructor that includes your topic, each of the three search engines you used, and the corresponding three URLs of the Web sites you selected. Save a copy for yourself, as the fifth assignment builds on this one.

Remember to construct your keyword searches carefully (using + and "), and to try several variations on your keywords before settling on any sources (examples: computers and teaching, computers and classroom, computers and education, technology and teaching, technology and classroom, technology and education, etc.).

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