Search


 * ==__Search Engines__==

Where you search is often as important as what you're searching for; different search engines will give you different results.

[|The Best search engine for your information need]
Use [|this guide from NoodleTools] to help you find the best search engine for your information need.

[|World Wide Web Research Tools]
This [|list of World Wide Web Research Tools] from Virtual Salt will also help you determine the right place to look for information.

[|Clusty]
[|Clusty]is a search engine that groups your search results into clusters by topic. This is a great search engine to use when you need help narrowing your topic, or if the results from other search engines give you a lot of irrelevant results. || ==__Reviewed Sites__== Sometimes it's good to let someone else to the hard work of searching. These sites contain lists of websites that have been found and reviewed by professionals.

[|Librarians' Internet Index]
Websites gathered and reviewed for quality content.

[|Internet Public Library]
Quality online resources; arranged by topic. ||

__Searching Tips__

 * Use a variety of keywords
 * Search engines don't look for meaning, they look for exact words. "Town" and "village" may mean, essentially, the same thing, but search engines don't know that.
 * Make use of advanced search screens
 * If you're looking for an exact phrase, put it in quotation marks.
 * In order to limit your search to .edu or .gov sites (which tend to be more reliable) add "site:edu" or site:gov" to your search terms
 * Note: you should not put the "site:edu" or site:gov" in quotation marks when you're searching. Do not put a space between the colon and .edu or .gov
 * Limiting your search to the title of the webpage can often bring back more relevant results.
 * In order to search for terms that are only in the title search intitle:term (for one search term) or allintitle:term term term (for multiple search terms).
 * Note: Do not put a space between the colon and the first term
 * Put the most important words first
 * Search engines don't understand "natural language" (i.e. the way people talk)--use a string of keywords, not a sentence or question
 * It doesn't matter whether or not your search makes grammatical sense.