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Table
of Contents for Entire Course
Search
engines are the only tool that attempt to index the whole Internet
-- and even they can't cover everything. You can become a better
searcher by knowing which search engine is best for which kind
of search!!
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Subject
directories, such as lii.org (Librarians'
Index to the Internet, which you just used) are wonderful places
to begin. They cover quality resources, and human beings select
and arrange the resources. Great places to browse!
Sometimes,
though, you want to launch yourself out there on the Internet
and explore totally on your own. They estimate that there are
between 7-8 million new Web pages published every day, so no subject
directory could possibly keep up. To explore the larger Web, you
use a search engine.
A search
engine sends out an automated program (called a robot, a spider,
or a crawler) that goes around on the Internet and brings back
information. When you query a search engine, you then specify
words that, if used on Web pages, would indicate that the page
is on your topic.
The Internet
is gigantic. There is simply no single search tool that
searches through all of it. And search engines are updated at
different rates.
The Cabrillo
College Library has a search engine comparison chart that helps
you get an overview of the coverage and the contents of search
engines. It also has searching tips. To get to the chart:
- From
the Cabrillo College Library homepage, select Search
the Internet
- Next,
select Search Engines
- On
the Search Engine page, select (Click
here for Detailed Search Engine Chart)
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