Clearinghouse of Professional Information
Search Tools
This section is a listing of links to sites providing information on Internet searching as well as links to
various types of Internet search tools, and databases themselves. This section is also maintained as a support for
EXCEL courses, especially the on-line "Electronic Sources of Information".
Students can use this selection of links to complete their assignments.
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indicates an item written by SOLS staff |
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indicates an item written by OLS-North staff |
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Clicking on certain topics will open a new window, if the link is to a topic included in an other Clearinghouse page |
General Resources
About Web Searching
-
How to Search the Net Effectively
(Media
Awareness Network)
- Search the Internet and find websites
(University of
California. Berkeley Library). A real find! Groups search engines in a table, including
search text box for each, as well as search tips for many general and advanced search engines.
- Web Search Guide.
Tutorials
These tutorials were once part of The Internet Guide available through
subscription.
Specialized Resources
Topics:
Canadian approach | "
Deep Web" |
Directories |
General Search
Engines | "Image" Search Engines
| "Invisible
Web" |
Meta Search | 'Real
Time' Search Engines |
Specialized Search Engines |
Vortals | Web Site
Evaluation
On-line Databases
- Educator's Reference Desk
"You can access AskERIC's 2,000+ lesson plans, 3,000+ links to
online education information, and 200+ question archive responses.
The Educator's Reference Desk provides a search interface to the
ERIC Database, providing access to over one million bibliographic
records on educational research, theory, and practice.
Search Engines
- Answers an
innovative way to find answers on the Web, without searching for them. Instead
of going to your favorite search engine and typing in a query, then sorting
through various links to find the answer that you are looking for, Answers.com
"displays quick, snapshot answers with concise, reliable information."
- Ask Replaces Ask Jeeves and
searches the Teoma database of web pages. (Teoma discontinued
March 2006.)
Full text of web pages (over 2 billion).
- Google! No frills and fast. Shows the most relevant pages first.
Google Search Engine Cheat Sheet
-
The Search Engine List (About.com) INlcudes Bolg serach engines
The “deep” or “invisible” web are web pages not
immediately found in search engines. Usually, these resources are
located in databases or are otherwise excluded from conventional
searches.
"Image" Search Engines
-
12 Useful Image Search Tools
- Flickr
- Picsearch Picsearch
connects its users to the vast visual resources of the internet. Picsearch
uses its own technology to crawl the web and has created a searchable index
of images. Picsearch has a family friendliness that allows children to surf
in safety as all offensive material is filtered out by our advanced
filtering systems
- Smithsonian
Photographic Collection
Meta search engines
Metasearches send a single query to multiple databases simultaneously.
- All+ A metasearch engine, which searches across several other major search engines.
- Dogpile: Metasearch searches multiple engines - this means that instead of getting the
best results one search engine has to offer, you'll be getting the best combined results from a variety of engines, and not just any
engines, but industry leading engines like Google, Yahoo! Search, Live Search, Ask.com, About, MIVA, LookSmart and more.
- Ixquick: Searches the 14 largest engines. Ranks results. Use this engine when you are searching for an
obscure topic or an individual site. "Librarians love it!"
- Mamma: Mother of All Search Engines
Interface also in French to search the 'francophonie' or the world
- Collecta Monitors the update streams of news sites, popular blogs and social media, and Flickr,
so we can show you results as they happen. From web designers at AOL
- Health and Medical Search Engines
Link to
sites selected by SOLS on this topic.
- KidsClick Web search for kids by librarians. Includes a directory version with Dewey classes
- MagPortal Helps you find individual magazine articles on the web. Use the search engine or click on a category to browse through article
listings from many free magazines.
- Search Tools
for Kids (Springfield Virtual Library)
-
Top Ten Job Search Engines
(About.com)
- SlideFinder
A search tool to find publicly available PowerPoint slidesets
- Whostalkin A social media search tool that allows users to search for conversations
surrounding the topics that they care about most. Whether it be your favorite sport, favorite food, celebrity, or your
company’s brand name; Whostalkin.com can help you join in on the conversations that you care about most.
Vortals are web sites which focus on particular topics and which especially allow you to search for information relating
to those topics. They include specialty search engines, link lists in Yahoo-style directory search categories.
This section includes some general resources about how to evaluate
web sites.
Excellent search engine portal and directory in French