Search Engines

The PowerPoint icon indicates a search engine which can list .ppt files on the results page

Search Strategies | Search Advice | Clustering Search Engines | New Search Engines

1. 43Marks - This new meta search engine is a customizable bookmark storage page - take a look at a customized sample
2. About.com - (formerly the Mining Company) is not really a search engine, but they provide an excellent directory.
3. Academic Reference and Research Index - tens of thousands of academic reference and research sites
4. AllTheWeb claims that you can "find it all" using their service. Caution : This search site may be blocked by some content filters.
5. AltaVista allows searches for documents in a specific language and provides a topical index.
6. AltaVista text only search is a simple text-only search engine which produces results quickly
7. AOL Search is a search engine powered by Excite and enhanced by Google.
8. Ask - type a question the way you would normally ask it
9. Beaucoup - the ultimate source for free information
10. BublLink: Catalogue of Internet Resources - [uses the Dewey Decimal System] selected Internet resources covering all academic subject areas
11. Clusty - clustering search engine with a "prettied-up" interface (same great results!)
12. Dewey Browse - Web Sites Classified by the Dewey Decimal Classification System for Grades K-12
13. Dogpile searches by accessing several search engines. If you have been using the search engine MetaFind, you are now automatically routed to Dogpile.
14. FindSounds.com is a search engine for finding sound effects on the Web.
15. FindSpot links to several search engines - currently not vailable
16. Giga Blast powerful, new search engine that does real-time indexing
17. Go - formerly known as Infoseek
18. Google ranks the quality of sites based on the quality of sites that link to it.
19. Google Custom Search Engine - Create your own search engine on specific topics and limit it to just the web sites you want students to use.
20. Google Maps - street maps or satellite maps, directions and business search, they even have traffic information for some cities
21. Google Web Search Features - from the Google Help Center
22. HotBot allows you to define the search, narrow the search by time (items posted within the last...), or by domain (.com, .net, .edu...).
23. Internet Public Library - The mission of this site is to provide library services to the Internet community, to learn and teach what librarians have to contribute in a digital environment, to promote librarianship and the importance of libraries, and to share interesting ideas and techniques with other librarians.
24. ixQuick a metasearch engine
25. KartOO - a metasearch engine with visual display interfaces
26. Librarians Internet Index - searchable, annotated subject directory of more than 6,200 Internet resources selected and evaluated by librarians for their usefulness to users of public libraries. It's meant to be used by both librarians and non-librarians as a reliable and efficient guide to described and evaluated Internet resources.
27. Live Search from Microsoft
28. Mamma.com - The Mother of All Search Engines - When you enter a query at the Mamma.com web site, Mamma's powerful proprietary technology simultaneously queries 10 of the major Search Engines and properly formats the words and syntax for each source being probed. Mamma then creates a virtual database, organizes the results into a uniform format and presents them by relevance and source.
29. MetaCrawler search for a word or a phrase
30. MetaEureka - a simple text based meta search engine
31. Partners in Rhyme provides a huge database of sounds to search.
32. Safe Google Google's SafeSearch screens for sites that contain inappropriate types of information for students and eliminates them from search results
33. Search.com posted by c|net and powered by Excite. Their topical index is in the form of a pull-down menu, or a listing of topics they call Specialty Searches.
34. Search Tools for Kids - Search engines designed for use by children accompanied by screened sites just for kids
35. Soople - makes many of Google's features easier to use
36. SortFix - SortFix has developed a system that does all the hard work and leaves you only the easy part. Behind the scene an intelligent algorithm imitates a professional searcher - by scanning and examining the results, it reveals the significant keywords and terms that will help you to define a better question. Give it a try!
37. Start - claims to be the world's first Web-based question answering system
38. TekMom's favorite research tools on the Web
39. Thomas - (as in Thomas Jefferson) Legislative Information on the Internet "Acting under the directive of the leadership of the 104th Congress to make Federal legislative information freely available to the Internet public, a Library of Congress team brought the THOMAS World Wide Web system online in January 1995."


40. Visual Thesaurus - Really cool way to look up synonyms. It is just a trial version but you can look up a few words at a time without paying.
41. Webcrawler has a clean new look. No ads, No Banners, No Pop-Ups.
42. Wayback Machine - Browse through 55 billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago.
43. Wotbox - small search engines with a fast interface
44. Yahoo features a topical index as well as a search function. The topical index provides pre-defined search results.
45. Zanran - numerical data search, source for data and statistics (graphs, charts, and tables) new on 6/9/2011
46. Zapmeta - I really do like their Quick View feature, give it a try. Although this meta search engine does give a small, manageable number of resources, the first sites listed are commercial sites. Recommendation : Skip the Featured Sponsor Listings and go straight to the Web Site Results section.

Clustering Search Engines

1. Carrot - Carrot organizes your search results into topics giving an instant overview of what's available
2. Search Cube - Search-Cube is a visual search engine that presents web search results in a unique, three-dimensional cube interface. It shows previews of up to ninety-six websites, videos and images.
3. Search Engines with Cluster Technology - Over 40 search engines with cluster technology generate different groups of particular topics
4. Quintura - graphical clustering (or mapping) somewhat similar to the defunct Grokker
5. Redz - A small number of websites are clustered, with the best fit on top
6. WebClust - WebClust queries one or more web search engines, parses their result pages to extract the documents (titles, URLs, and short descriptions) and groups the documents based on this information
7. Yippy - Clusters search results so that you can target a particular topic.

New Search Engines

1. Alexa - features an available toolbar similar to the one offered by Google
2. Entire Web - general purpose search engine
3. Exalead -
4. Mojeek - a clean user interface and minimal on-screen clutter
5. Ms. Dewey - Interesting visual interface with a "sultry demeanor"
6. Quintura - a clustering search engine
7. Simply Google - many search choices arranged in columns
8. Visvo - the Sanskrit word for universe
9. Wikipedia's list of search engines
10. Zuula - sends query to multiple search engines and then displays the results of each in separate tabs
11. More at The Top 100 Alternative Search Engines from Read Write Web

Kid Safe Search Engines

It has always been my recommendation that teachers should search for Internet resources they want their students to use and design lessons/projects/units so that the Internet sites to be used are clearly defined. However, if you plan to send your students searching, use one of the Kid-Safe search engines below:

Ask for Kids - Just type in a question and click Ask! Actually a word or two works just as well as a whole question.

CyberSleuth Kids - an Internet guide for K-12 kids (warn your students about the ads)

Kids Click : A web guide and search tool for kids put together by librarians. Fifteen major categories each with several subcategories, this site has a look similar to Yahoo.

Kids.Net - Search Engine Just for kids & children - Searching safe & clean sites.

KidRex - a fun and safe search for kids, by kids [Don't let T Rex scare you!]

Kids' Search Tools - Search here for words, information or web sites with this all-inclusive page that includes a dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedias, kid safe search engines and more.

ithaki.net - a powerful internet metasearch engine developed for kids (age group targeted, kids above 10)

Quintura Kids - a clustering search engine for Kids

Super Kids - Super Cool Guide to Finding Stuff on the Web

Search strategies for finding resources to support a classroom unit

Take a look at the list provided by Debbie Abilock titled " Choose the Best Search for Your Information Need ." For example, you might "have a broad academic subject and need pointers to quality sites." If so, Debbie suggests that you go to Librarians' Index to the Internet or Infomine. On the other hand, if you need to see relationships among ideas, she suggests that you use KartOO or Web Brain.

This is a great site, check it out!
Recommended Search Strategy: Analyze your topic & Search with peripheral vision - from University of California, Berkeley

Step 1. Choose a few search engines, and learn how they work

Find 3 - 4 search engines that you are comfortable using and do most of your searches with them. This tutorial will use Vivisimo, which sends search queries to several search engines and then clusters the results. I have found that Vivisimo consistently gives me good results. If you wish to use a different search engine check out the list at the top of this page. There is also a list of Kid Safe Search Engines above.

Tip: Do not search with the button. Go to a search engine's homepage, not where the browser sends you.

Step 2. Use a Clustering search engine (Yippy)

Yippy - This search engine clusters the results by topic. This is the best way to see all of the content of a search, but not have to scroll through pages and pages of information.

Step 3. Searching for pictures

Ditto calls itself the premier visual search engine . If you are searching for an image, you will probably find it here. Several search engines offer graphics search capability. ( Caution : Image search pages on search engines are blocked by many state filters.)
Internet4Classrooms has a collection of graphics links with a section on picture collections found on the Internet.

Step 4. Search for sounds on the Internet

FindSounds.com is a search engine for finding sound effects on the Web. Search the Web for sound effects and sample sounds. Take a look at the types of sounds you can find. This is a partial list. Many more sounds are available. You may also find a large number of sound files of all types at Partners in Rhyme .

Step 5. Let the purpose of your search determine the search engine to be used.

Take a look at the list provided by Debbie Abilock titled " Choose the Best Search for Your Information Need ." For example, you might "have a broad academic subject and need pointers to quality sites." If so, Debbie suggests that you go to Librarians' Index to the Internet or Infomine. On the other hand, if you need to see relationships among ideas, she suggests that you use KartOO or Web Brain. This is a great site, check it out!

Step 6. If you feel comfortable as an Internet sleuth, move on to discover how to evaluate web sites.

The University of California, Berkeley has an exercise in evaluating web sites. Essentially a WebQuest on evaluating sites, this activity is used to show UC Berkeley students why it is important to evaluate the source of information on the web. Try the activity yourself .

Step 7. Teach your students to think as they search the Internet.

Alan November asks, "Is your high school teaching students to access the Internet for research?" If so, he points out that "it is essential that students also learn how to validate the information. The Internet is a place where you can find 'proof " of essentially any belief system that you can imagine. And, for too many students, 'If it is on the Internet, it is true.' " Read his entire article, titled Teaching Zach to Think [ Note : this link opens on a new page ]. Alan wrote this for the September 1998 issue of High School Principal Magazine .

Step 8. Learn to use Boolean Logic in your searching

"Boolean searching is named after George Boole, a British mathematician (1815-1864), who wrote about logical ways to formulate precise queries using true-false connectors or "operators" between concepts. The true-false nature of Boolean logic, as this system is commonly called, makes it compatible with binary logic used in digital computers. It has become the conventional basis for searching most computerized systems." Quoted from Joe Barker (jbarker@library.berkeley.edu) from "Best Stuff on the Web" - Copyright 2002 The Teaching Library, University of California, Berkeley, CA. See a two-page .pdf document about using the primary operators .

Step 9. Use four Nets for better searching

Dr. Bernie Dodge, co-developer of the WebQuest concept, suggests using NETS as an acronym for remembering a way to improve your search results. The NETS acronym comes from his suggestion to: "start n arrow, use e xact phrases, t rim the URL, and seek s imilar pages." For a more complete explanation of this suggestion, see his page posted on the San Diego State University domain .