| A | B |
|---|
| Individual search engine | uses computer programs called “spiders”, “crawlers”, or “robots” to match key search words with the web pages that contain them |
| Individual search engine | The results returned are lists of web pages and titles |
| Individual search engine | Does not search the Internet itself, but instead, searches databases of information about the Internet |
| Individual search engine | Google.com, ask.com, and search.yahoo.com are examples of this type of search engine. |
| Meta-search engine | sends requests for information to several search engines simultaneously and compiles the results |
| Meta-search engine | As the results are compiled, duplications are eliminated, thus yielding fewer results than a search engine |
| Meta-search engine | Google Custom Search Engine, excite.com, and webcrawler.com are examples of this type of search engine. |
| Subject directories | searchable databases that are developed and maintained by human selection of sites to search broad subject categories and their descriptions |
| Subject directories | Used in research and often linked to library systems |
| Subject directories | Also referred to as research databases |
| Subject directories | Mostly made up of thousands of specialized searchable databases, such as library catalogs and article databases |
| Subject directories | Searches for non-HTML formats (PDF, Word, Excel, script-based, PowerPoint, etc.) |
| Subject directories | Results in more reliable pages than search engines |
| http://infomine.ucr.edu | compiled by academic librarians from the University of California and elsewhere |
| Subject directories | Directory.google.com, www.about.com, libraryresearch.com, ERIC, CRIS, Incywincy.com, Completeplanet.com, and Googlescholar are all examples of this type of search engine. |
| EBSCOhost | – premium online information resources for institutions worldwide, representing millions of end-users, including: Colleges and universities, hospitals and medical institutions, corporations, government, K-12 schools, and public libraries. |
| Internet Search Methods | Keyword, field, boolean logic and miscellaneous |
| keyword | unique phrases or terms (search string), synonyms or word variations |
| field | A search parameter, such as a title, genre, date of publication |
| field | Useful for drilling down and focusing on specific content |
| Boolean logic | Uses operators with keywords to narrow search parameters |
| Boolean logic | Operators include AND, OR, and quotation marks |
| AND | narrows results by searching for pages that contain both keywords |
| OR | expands results by search for pages that contain either of the keywords |
| Quotation marks | narrow results by searching for phrases instead of individual words |
| Miscellaneous search methods | different language support, spell checker, phonebook, math/equivalents |
| Different language support | searches for words in different languages |
| Spell checker | gives suggestions if the word keyed for the search is spelled incorrectly |
| Phonebook | uses phone numbers to search for locations and addresses |
| Math/equivalents | solves basic math problems and converts equivalents |
