Imagine yourself in a sprawling library with books stacked from floor to ceiling in no apparent order. Intrigued at first, you rummage through the stacks, happy when you stumble onto something that interests you. Soon enough, however, you feel frustrated that you're spending too much time in the library without seeing anything you really need. You notice that other patrons walk in and easily find exactly what they want. What's their secret? They found the library's catalog and know how to use it.The Internet can feel like that sprawling library: you know good information is there, but where? This document introduces you to some of the "catalogs" of the World Wide Web: search tools and directories that help you find what you're looking for. You'll learn about the following:
- Search engines that look for your keywords in Web documents
- Directories that catalog Web documents, usually by subject area
- Email address search tools
- Selected search tools available from the UNC library server
Finding Stuff on the World Wide Web
You'll use a browser such as Netscape or Explorer to search the World Wide Web. As discussed in Web Browsing , you can use graphical browsers such as Netscape or Explorer if you have either a direct Internet connection or PPP. You need to keep these things in mind as you search:Search Engines
- The Web changes constantly and rapidly, so it can never be completely catalogued.
- A site you find today may not be available tomorrow.
- The only information that's on the Web is the information that someone has taken the time to put there. As the song says, "You can't always get what you want."
Search Engines look for key words in the title and content of web documents. You type a string of characters, and the search engine looks for the string in the web pages it has indexed. It then displays links to the pages it finds that match your search request.The following is a list of search engines to get you started:
Of course, you'll discover many more search engines as you explore the Web.
- Yahoo: http://www.yahoo.com
- Lycos: http://www.lycos.com
- Hotbot: http://www.hotbot.com
- Excite: http://www.excite.com
- Microsoft: MicroSoft's General Search Page
Which Search Engine Should You Use?
With search engines, as with so many other things, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The right search engine for you is the one that finds more of the information you want, and the one you're most comfortable using. Let's look at some of the factors to consider when deciding which search engine to use.What information, if any, does the search engine display along with its links?
Some search engines provide excerpts from the Web pages they locate along with the links to those pages. These excerpts can help you decide whether to follow a link. Other engines display only the link, with no accompanying text. You must follow the link to find out whether the page is valuable to you. Still other search engines give you the choice to see more or less detail about the pages it finds for you.What is the size of the database the engine searches?
Judging database size can be confusing and misleading. The people behind the search engines can't seem to agree on how to quantify the size of their indexes, so it's hard to compare size. Most of the pages provide an explanation of how they calculate the size of their databases, and why their database is bigger than someone else's, no matter what the competition claims. The size game goes on because it draws users, and the bigger the audience, the easier it is for the keepers of the page to sell advertising space on it The size of each database is difficult to pin down, too, because, it changes with time as individuals and organizations add new pages to the web.Which search engine has more links to your subject area?
Try searching for the same subject using different search engines. Since each engine has a different database, each will have a different result. You may find that for a particular subject, one search engine is better than another.Which search engine is available when you want to use it?
Your favorite search engine may not always be available. Most search engines limit the number of people who can use them at any one time. In addition, search engines do have problems that cause them to stop working from time to time. You may pick a search engine to use most of the time, but if you use the Web often, experiment with other engines when your favorite isn't available.Searching for Multiple Terms
You can search for multiple terms with each of the search engines listed. You specify whether you want to see documents that contain all of your search terms ("and" in traditional search language), or that contain at least one of your search terms ("or"). For example, let's say you're searching for information about F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby. You can search for pages with "Fitzgerald" AND "Great" AND "Gatsby" in them, or pages that contain "Fitzgerald" OR "Great" OR "Gatsby" OR any combination of the three terms. Some search engines allow more sophisticated searching. Be sure to check the options or help pages for the search engine you use.Some Tips for Searching
As you search, keep these ideas in mind:
- If your first search isn't fruitful, try broadening it. Think about what subject category the topic might fit under. If you are too specific, you probably will get fewer hits than if your topic is more broad.
- You can usually control the number of hits the search engine reports to you. Just remember, the higher the number of hits you specify, the longer your search takes. Start by asking for a low number of hits. If you don't find what you need, increase the number.
- Your search for new information on a subject may never be over, because information on the Web changes constantly.
- Search engines are not as sophisticated as tools you may have used to search traditional library resources. You can count on using persistence and imagination in your search.
Subject-Oriented Directories
Subject-oriented directories are lists of links categorized by subject area. You may find the following directories useful:
- YAHOO Index: http://www.yahoo.com
- Yanoff's List: http://www.spectracom.com/islist/
- WWW Virtual Library: http://www.w3.org/vl/
- Clearinghouse for Subject Oriented Internet Resource Guides: http://www.clearinghouse.net
Searching For Email Addresses and other Addresses
Probably the best way to find someone's email address or other address is to contact the person by telephone or snail-mail, that is, U.S. mail (with apologies to the postal service). Often, however, you can find email addresses or other address and phone number for people in United States and anyone on the WEB. The following is a list of resources for finding email addresses and other addresses on the Internet.
- Yahoo People Search: http://www.yahoo.com/search/people//
- Yanoo Yellow Page Search: Yahoo Yellow Pages
- Internet Email Address Finder: http://www.iaf.net/
- Universities all over the world: http://www.yahoo.com/Education/Universities
Searching for Discussion Lists
Email lists are discussed in some detail in Introduction to the Internet . To search for an email discussion list, visit this page: http://www.liszt.com.Another Place to look: UNC Virtual Reference Desk
The reference department at UNC library has been hard at work constructing a page full of helpful links at http://sunsite.unc.edu/reference/quickref.html. The page includes links to valuable information, including how to cite Internet references.Using the UNC Library's Server (a telnet example)
If you're doing serious research, the UNC library server is a great Internet resource. You can use the server to find a wealth of information, including the library catalog, journal articles, periodicals, and conference papers.The library server address is library.unc.edu. If you have a direct connection or PPP service, use a telnet program to connect to the server. (What's telnet? Find out in Introduction to the Internet .) If you dial in to the UNC-CH modem pool, choose the library server from the main menu.
Once you're connected to the library, you can look at the UNC-CH online catalog, or choose from other menu options. Let's look at some of the resources available from the library under the menu option Index to Periodicals and Newspapers.
CARL Uncover
You can use CARL Uncover to find articles in more than 17,000 multi-disciplinary journals. Most of the journals are in the libraries at UNC-CH, NCSU, and Duke. For a fee, Uncover will fax copies of the articles to you. After connecting to the library and selecting Index to Periodicals and Newspapers, choose CARL Uncover from the menu that appears. When you connect to CARL, indicate that your terminal type is vt100. Finally, choose Article Access and Delivery, and you're on your way. Information about moving around in CARL appears at the bottom of each screen.OCLC FirstSearch
OCLC FirstSearch enables you to search a wide range of databases, including the Humanities Index and ERIC. To access this service from the Index to Periodicals and Newspapers menu, choose OCLC FirstSearch. Then select a topic you want to investigate. Depending on the database, you may find abstracts or library holding information. You may be able to email the results of your search, or order the actual item that you find; again, this depends on the database you search. As with CARL, information about moving around in FirstSearch appears at the bottom of each screen. FirstSearch also has help screens that explain various searching techniques.
The IAB Data Collection thanks the University of North Carolina for provding the basic layout for these web pages. The original document was a web page from the The Office of Information Technology at The University of North Carolina that has been modified/updated for general use. The information contained in these pages is intended to help beginning internet users to use the World Wide Web (WWW). It is written to help IAB members, State Board Members, and others find and use information on the internet. Please send any comments/suggestions to Ernie_Patterson@unc.edu.