Do you always use the same search engine? Do you know why you always use it? Do you make the best use of it? If you have answered "no" to any of these questions, you should read on.
Search engines can be divided into 2 types:
Early search engines were directories. Now, crawlers are more common. But which type of engine you decide to use will depend on what you want to use it for. Here is a list of the most common search engines:
These allow you to search several search engines at the same time and then give you a unified list of results. Here are just two of the many:
Look out for search engines which allow you to select the language and country in which you are working. Some of them have European mirror sites and should load more quickly:
Lists of regional search engines can be found at European search engines, directories and lists - www.netmasters.co.uk/european_search_engines/.
Some search engines are limited to finding UK sites, for example:
For a wider choice, see this list of over 170 - www.philb.com/cse/unitedkingdom.htm.
Search engines vary in their amount of quality control over sites listed. Most search engines include details of how to submit a URL for inclusion. Reading these can give you clues about the quality control and coverage. Many search engines "guarantee" higher rankings or faster inclusion in indexes in return for payment.
You will need to look critically at the sites you find. Aspects to look out for when evaluating WWW sites include:
Other factors that may influence you in choosing between sites include how long a site takes to load, how easy it is to find your way around a site, how good the search engine help sections are and the design and layout of the pages.
As with any search for information, if you plan your search carefully you are likely to find more relevant material more quickly. If your search finds too many sites or largely irrelevant sites you will need to rethink your search strategy. Ask the librarians for help. All the major search engines have very detailed advice on search techniques, and some have advanced search facilities. The precise way you need to type in your subject words or phrase may vary from one search engine to another.
If your search retrieves too many irrelevant sites or too few sites, then you will want to think carefully about the way you want to combine the search words. Look for the advanced search option as this allows more flexibility in combining search words. Or use symbols to help combine words to make your search more precise:
However, Google stopped using the + symbol in this way in November 2011 and instead it is necessary to use quotation marks to specify words which have to be included in the results.
Most search engines allow you to type the first part of the word and then use a character, e.g. * or ] or ? (it varies from one search engine to another) to replace the subsequent letters. So, to find American, Americas, Americans, you might type America*
If your search is not producing the results that you expected, you might want to think of some other relevant search words, e.g. USA, UNITED STATES, NORTH AMERICA etc. Please ask the library staff if you need any help or advice on searching. Come along and speak to the Assistant Librarian who can offer you advice on using other electronic information sources in your subject area, and can register you to use some of the electronic resources requiring passwords.
Staff and students of Cambridge University who wish to find out about new electronic resources and subscriptions should read the University Library's eResources etc. blog - www.lib.cam.ac.uk/eresourcesblog.
©Sarah Elsegood, January 1999
Last updated: January 2012 by Jenny Blackhurst