1. Internet Power Searching Finding Pearls in a Zillion Grains of Sand By Amelia Kassel Found in “Technical Communication” on page 198.

2. World Wide Web Government Resources Government Resources Internet Online Public Access Catalogs (OPACs) Internet Online Public Access Catalogs (OPACs) Libraries (worldwide) Libraries (worldwide) Professional and Trade Associations Professional and Trade Associations Experts in every subject Experts in every subject

3. Search Engines In April 1998, Internet size was measured at 320 million pages In April 1998, Internet size was measured at 320 million pages HotBot.com estimated only 200 million are searchable HotBot.com estimated only 200 million are searchable Large percentage of web is not searchable Large percentage of web is not searchable

4. Why? Search engines do not return exact matches Search engines do not return exact matches Documents no longer exist Documents no longer exist Documents are changed since archived Documents are changed since archived No frames or image maps No frames or image maps No sites with complex databases No sites with complex databases No password-guarded sites No password-guarded sites No sites which use a “robots.txt” file No sites which use a “robots.txt” file

5. Which should I use? AltaVista (www.altavista.com) AltaVista (www.altavista.com)www.altavista.com HotBot (www.hotbot.com) HotBot (www.hotbot.com)www.hotbot.com Excite (www.excite.com) Excite (www.excite.com)www.excite.com Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com)www.yahoo.com

6. AltaVista One of the most powerful and most popular One of the most powerful and most popular Good for narrow topics Good for narrow topics Advanced search options Advanced search options Natural language query Natural language query Language translation Language translation Boolean (and, or, not) searching Boolean (and, or, not) searching Not too user-friendly Not too user-friendly

7. Excite Best with general searches Best with general searches Provides searches, news, sports scores, etc. on one page Provides searches, news, sports scores, etc. on one page “Search for more like this” links “Search for more like this” links Travel site Travel site Boolean searching Boolean searching

8. HotBot User friendly interface User friendly interface Quick search results Quick search results Up to 100 results at a time Up to 100 results at a time Boolean searching available Boolean searching available Known to refresh its index every two weeks at one time Known to refresh its index every two weeks at one time

9. Yahoo! Great for broad/general topics Great for broad/general topics Contains 750,000 sites (1998) Contains 750,000 sites (1998) Yahoo! In different languages and countries Yahoo! In different languages and countries Directory browsing available Directory browsing available Inclusion/exclusion, phrases, wildcards, and other features available Inclusion/exclusion, phrases, wildcards, and other features available

10. How can search better? Variety of search engines Variety of search engines Some are better than others Some are better than others Use several search engines to answer one question Use several search engines to answer one question

11. Still not sure? Use trial and error Use trial and error See how each one works See how each one works Read each search engine’s instructions or help pages Read each search engine’s instructions or help pages Think of unique phrases to search for Think of unique phrases to search for Don’t spend too much time on one search site Don’t spend too much time on one search site

12. Hints Try using the Boolean search tools (if available) Try using the Boolean search tools (if available) Use quotes around phrases Use quotes around phrases The, a, and, with are not searched The, a, and, with are not searched Use field search, if available Use field search, if available

13. Metasearch Engines Dogpile (www.dogpile.com) Dogpile (www.dogpile.com)www.dogpile.com Internet Sleuth (www.internetsleuth.com) Internet Sleuth (www.internetsleuth.com)www.internetsleuth.com ProFusion (www.profusion.com) ProFusion (www.profusion.com)www.profusion.com SavvySearch (www.savvysearch.com now owned by www.cnet.com) SavvySearch (www.savvysearch.com now owned by www.cnet.com)www.savvysearch.comwww.cnet.comwww.savvysearch.comwww.cnet.com

14. Resources Government Agencies (for example US Census Bureau) Government Agencies (for example US Census Bureau) Companies with financial and stock market data Companies with financial and stock market data Research companies with info on latest developments Research companies with info on latest developments

15. Keep up with the Internet Cyberskeptic Guide to Internet Research (www.bibliodata.com) Cyberskeptic Guide to Internet Research (www.bibliodata.com)www.bibliodata.com The Search Engine Update (www.searchenginewatch.com) The Search Engine Update (www.searchenginewatch.com)www.searchenginewatch.com

16. My Thoughts This article is outdated (April 1998) This article is outdated (April 1998) Many of the websites mentioned in the article are no longer available Many of the websites mentioned in the article are no longer available There are newer, better websites available now (for example www.google.com) There are newer, better websites available now (for example www.google.com)www.google.com The internet is much larger now The internet is much larger now

17. Happy Searching!!