FINDING INFORMATION ON THE WEB - DIRECTORIES AND SEARCHING

FINDING INFORMATION ON THE WEB - DIRECTORIES AND SEARCHING

DIRECTORIES

collections of hyperlinks to the WWW and other resources
usually arranged according to subject headings (News, Health, Medicine, Science,..)
most useful when you know what you are looking for and what category or heading it is under
most directories include a search tool to look through that directory only
must be specifically added to directory to be included
most services are free

SEARCH ENGINES (or WEB INDEX)

programs that search the WWW sites and create a database or index of all the text, titles, hyperlinks, and URLs they find
a computer program with a database to find items whose text contains all or at least one of the words given to it
help you collect and then browse information from lots of sources
most services are free and are sponsored by or owned by a commercial organization
some have a fee which many companies, news agencies and research organizations are willing to pay for
relies on robots to find new pages
most services are free

DIRECTORIES

As indicated earlier, most directories organize their lists of hyperlinks according to subject. To get a listing of directories click on Net Directory in Netscape. There are several different directories available (Index to the Internet). They all don't have the same information; some are general and some are very specialized; and they all have different formats. After selecting a specific topic you are provided a list of more specific topics to select from. Most directories include a tool for searching and allows you to provide keywords to help select a topic.

To be the most successful at using the Internet as a search tool you should become familiar with several directories. By doing so you will decrease the amount of time spent searching. Most directories have a Help section, it is advisable to take some time to read this to help you understand the purpose of the directory and how to most effectively and efficiently use it

Argus/University of Michigan Clearinghouse for Subject-Oriented Internet Resource Guides OR just Clearinghouse (http://www.clearinghouse.net/)

This directory bills itself as "The Premier Internet Resource Library." Originally developed through the U of M library, Clearinghouse is a collection of Internet guides to information about special topics. Anyone can submit a guide to the Clearinghouse, but it must meet their criteria to be rated and made available. Clearinghouse is jointly sponsored by Argus Associates and the University of Michigan.

Excite Directory (http://www.excite.com)

Excite provides a directory and a means to search the directory and other sites on the WWW. Excite works as a guide to information on the Internet. It contains a search tool (Excite Search); a directory of Web sites (Excite Reviews - arranged by subject); a link to City.Net; "Excite Live," a personalized list of hyperlinks to news, weather, or entertainment information; and a reference section with links to business information, maps, a dictionary, and ways to find e-mail addresses. Each listing is accompanied by a written review to give you an idea of what is at the site.

Information Sources - The Internet and Computer-Mediated Communication (http://www.december.com/cmc/info/index.html)

This extensive list, complied and maintained by John December, is a list of sources focusing on resources on the Internet and using the Internet for communication and information. The information presented in three levels with the first level being the most general.

Inter-Links (http://www.nova.edu/Inter-Links/start.html)

Inter-Links was created and is maintained by Rob Kabacoff from the center for Psychological Studies at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The primary categories are: Basic Internet Services, Topical Resources, Fun and Games, Guide and Tutorials, News and Weather, Library Resources, Reference Shelf, and Search the Net. The links are carefully chosen and often fit within a window of 25 lines, therefore, this directory may not have as much detail as other directories, but can be useful.

Internet Services List (http://www.spectracom.com/islist/)

Internet Services List, created and maintained by Scott Yanoff (started in 1991), is a list of sites and services on the WWW and Internet. The list is arranged by subject. Yanoff updates monthly and continues to maintain it as a service to WWW and Internet users. (last updated 10/18/96)

The McKinley Internet Directory (http://www.mckinley.com)

The McKinley Internet Directory is also known as Magellan. It is available from the Netscape directory button Net Directory. The home page features a form to complete and use for searching the directory using a keyword or phrase. It can also be browsed by going through a list of categories. Sites are accompanied by a brief summary and are rated and reviewed.

World Wide Web Virtual Library by Subject (http://www.w3.org/hypertext/DataSources/bySubject/Overview.html)

This extensive directory, staffed by volunteers, has existed almost since the beginning of the WWW. Each volunteer maintains a collection of hyperlink related to a specific subject. The subjects can be viewed alphabetically or according to the Library of Congress. This is useful for researchers and the general public.

Yahoo Directory (http://www.yahoo.com)

A subject guide and search service of Internet sources, news groups, maps, sports scores, businesses, etc. If no results retrieved in Yahoo, the search is automatically passed to Alta Vista.

SEARCH ENGINES

Alta Vista (http://altavista.digital.com)

One of the most popular and fastest Web indexes. Offers a simple and advanced search. Simple search can handle simple queries as well as more advanced searching using a particular search syntax. Provides three results options. 31 million Web pages as of May 1997.

HotBot (http://www.hotbot.com)

Offers a simple search and an expert search. Simple searches support Boolean AND and OR operators. Results are displayed with the document title, a relevant rank in percent, a brief software-produced abstract, the URL, document size, and date of unknown origin. 54 million Web pages claimed in September 1996.

Lycos (http://www.lycos.com/)

One of the earliest search engines and still claims to have the largest overall coverage of the Web. Database of millions of Web pages, Gopher resources, and hyperlinks. Searches titles, headings, hyperlinks, and key words. Offers a simple and custom search. Custom search supports Boolean AND and OR. Results are listed in ranked order, information includes document address (URL), title, file size, and an excerpt from the file. 70 million Web pages claimed in March 1997.

Infoseek (http://www.infoseek.com)

A database that includes Web pages, Usenet newsgroups, and other Internet sources. Offers only a simple query option, but search words may be limited to particular fields by using "+" and "-" signs. Boolean phrases allowed. Results include document title, file size, URL, a brief abstract extracted from the document, and a relevance rank in percent. 50 Web pages claimed in September 1996. PC Computing voted the Most Valuable Internet Tool for 1995.

Open Text Index (http://index.opentext.net/help/help.html)

Open Text Index is a database of resources from the WWW and resources available through Usenet, FTP and Gopher. Three types of searches are available: simple search, power search, and weighted search.

WebCrawler (http://webcrawler.com)

Started by Brian Pinkerton at the University of Washington, but has since been moved to America Online. Good for quick results, uses Boolean phrases AND, OR, and NOT, as well as ADJ, and other ways of specifying search terms.

OTHER VALUABLE INTERNET RESOURCES

All-In-One Search Page (http://www.albany.net/allinone/all1www.html#WWW)

A compilation of various forms-based search tools found on the Internet. They have been combined here to provide a consistent interface and convenient all-in-one search point.

Internet Search Tool Details (http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Help/searchdetails.html)

Provides detailed information about subject directories and search engines.

Internet Sleuth (http://www.isleuth.com)

Lists several general purpose search engines, and also gives a directory to search tools for specific categories.

Savvy Search (http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~dreiling/smartform.html)

Savvy Search takes your search phrase and submits it to several search engines. Developed by Daniel Dreilinger at Colorado State University.

Dogpile (http://dogpile.com)

Dogpile is considered a metasearch engine, it searches 13 WWW search engines, 6 usenet sources, and 1 FTP archives.

Internet White Pages (http://home.netscape.com/home/internet-white-pages.html)

Searching the Internet (http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/Help/search.html)

UC Berkeley library has put together a list of some the Internet's fastest, most comprehensive, and most useful search engines available.

WHAT'S NEW LISTINGS

A special type of Web directory, called a What's New Listing, was designed with one purpose in mind: to announce the arrival of new Web sires. Many of the directories and indexes have their own What's New pages. The granddaddy of all What's New listings is operated by NCSA, creators of NCSA Mosaic.

http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Docs/whats-new.html

Sources:

Ackerman, E. (1997). Learning to Use the World Wide Web. Wilsonville, OR: Franklin, Beedle & Associates.

Internet Search Tool Details. http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Help/searchdetails.html (5/31/97).

Webmaster: Dr. Kelli McCormack Brown

Send comments to: kmbrown@com1.med.usf.edu

Last revised June 1, 1997