15 Webpages - Searching Specific Formats part 2 (Information Research)
Description
This article is from the Information Research FAQ, by David Novak david@spireproject.com with numerous contributions by others.
15 Webpages - Searching Specific Formats part 2 (Information Research)
Reviewed Sites
When seeking specific fields of study, when topics are clouded with
many similar, low quality sites, start with resources with a greater
degree of personal attention. Peer review and vetting produce resources
with more quality but limited coverage, better suited to this
situation. Also, keep your search words simple.
The Scout Report (http://wwwscout.cs.wisc.edu) is one of the oldest and
most highly regarded e-newsletters introducing new internet resources.
Residing at the University of Wisconsin, the Scout Report describes
research, education & topical sites. The Scout Report Signpost provides
a quick search of previously featured sites.
BUBL (http://www.bubl.ac.uk) is a British site which reviews internet
resources then indexes by Dewey decimal number. I prefer their Dewey
presentation but the collection is not large (though the largest of the
library projects I have seen).
The Argus Clearinghouse (http://www.clearinghouse.net) is a vast
collection of internet guidebooks. We can search the titles &
descriptions, but then click on the highlighted keywords to find
related guides. I suspect Argus is not successfully keeping pace with
internet development.
AlphaSearch (http://www.calvin.edu/library/searreso/internet/as/) is
similar to Argus. This one indexes important nexus sites and should be
browsed.
The Britannica.com (as in Encyclopedia Britannica
http://www.britannica.com) has been remolded as a free guide to books,
periodicals, web and their encyclopedia. This encyclopedia is perhaps
the best.
FAQs can be searched from an FAQ database like the one at
http://www.faqs.org
WebRings list sites by topic. Each webring is maintained by a volunteer
at an uninvolved site using standard software. The primary sites are
currently Webring.com and bomis.com
Specialty Tools
For issues with a particular government, url or language origin,
consider using tools designed with this in mind.
* Altavista can be limited to specific domains (gov edu au) with their
"domain:domainname" field search. "url:url-segment" is also useful.
Read the Altavista Fancy Features for Typical Searches.
* GovBot (http://ciir2.cs.umass.edu/Govbot/) as developed by The Center
for Intelligent Information Retrieval (CIIR) is a search engine which
indexes exclusively a great number of government webpages, a unique
resource.
* Altavista also allows for a field search by language. Searching for a
Japanese site? Consider searching only webpages in Japanese.
* Purely regional search engines may also be the answer. Aussie.com.au,
for example, is a search engine indexing only Australian websites.
There are fine lists of regional search engines and directories like
SearchEngineCollossus, Search Engines WorldWide, SearchEngineWatch and
Yahoo.
* Topic-specific search engines, a new arrival, has a very promising
future. Ideally you will find a search engine like ChemGuide
(http://www.fiz-chemie.de/en/datenbanken/chemguide/)covering over a
million chemistry related pages. Search Engine Guide
(http://searchengineguide.com) and Gary Price's Direct Search.
(gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~gprice/direct.htm) list topical search engines.
* Lastly, there are some commercial databases aimed at the software and
internet industries. Consider OCLC's NetFirst (articles from magazines
describing the internet).
Conclusion
For many of us, searching the web is simply typing words into a search
engine. I hope I have shown there is more to it than this. What may not
be clearly evident from a brief overview of resources is that each
resource has a particular difference, a particular focus, a particular
angle that helps us answer certain questions faster than other tools
and searches.
Yes, in the simple world of Yahoo and Altavista you pay no attention to
the specific differences between alternatives - you are left with the
worst of these two tools. Your results are general, timeless and
imprecise.
Contrary to myth, global search engines are not the best place to start
most of the time - just some of the time. On other occasions, start
with a directory, a meta-search engine, a guide, an FAQ... We should be
able to identify which tools excel at locating what kinds of webpages.
(There is no simple search of everything.)
There are more insights into effective internet research. Information
clumps; Information is not established in isolation but instead
develops in context, is reinforced, and becomes a trend. The publishing
motivation & promotion purpose can help us rapidly judge the content of
a website. The webpage address can tell us a great deal about both the
website structure and the type of publisher.
Once skilled, you can segment and search the most promising areas of
the web quickly and efficiently. If you do not quickly find your
answers there may be other, more appropriate resources. Consider asking
for help in an appropriate discussion group, or reviewing printed
literature instead. The Web is only one resource among many.
If your primary interest is Search Engines, consider reading A Higher
Signal - To - Noise Ratio
(http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dlcl/lbstat/search1.html) by Bob Bocher
& Kay Ihlenfeldt, Sink or Swim: Internet Search Tools & Techniques
(http://www.lboro.ac.uk/info/training/finding/sink.htm) by Ross Tyner
and The Search is Over
(http://www.zdnet.com/pccomp/features/fea1096/sub2.html) by Adam Page.
For even more, read Searching the Internet
(http://wwwscout.cs.wisc.edu/toolkit/searching/) a publication in the
Scout Toolkit and browse Search Engine Watch.
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