Searching Skills & The Invisible Web
The world wide web is a multi dimensional warehouse or documents, databases, audio, video, and other forms of information. The majority of these materials are not found through the most well known "search engines". Searchers need to use the many tools available to them to find the content they need. Searching requires thought and understanding of how to use search tools.
Use the Boolean operators ADJ (adjacent), AND, OR and NOT to narrow a search. Don't forget " "
Tutorial for Searching Skills - From Learn Web Skills
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Search Engines - Standard |
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| Excite | General search engine |
| General search engine. Adding more and more everyday | |
| Ask.com | General search engine |
| Yahoo! Search | General search engine |
| DogPile | General search engine |
| Gigablast | General search engine |
| Singingfish | An audio/video search engine, |
| Scirus | A science search engine |
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Meta Search Engines - searches the databases of multiple sets of individual engines simultaneously |
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| Ez2find | Results show information sources and ranking. Clustered results make it easy to locate relevant information. |
| Vivisimo | Categorizes results and presents them in an easy-to-view format. Its clustering technology allows searchers to gain an excellent overview of any topic |
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The Invisible Web - Hidden or Deep Web refers to the growing store of information that is not visible or accessible to standard search engines. |
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| Searchability | A list of multi-subject guides (with descriptions) to thousands of search engines |
| GPO search | Search for federal government information |
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Specific Searches |
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| Artifact | Covers subjects - Architecture; Communications, Media and Culture; Design; Fashion and Beauty; Music and the Performing Arts; and Visual Arts. |
| PSIgate: Physical Sciences Information Gateway | Free access to high-quality Internet resources in astronomy, chemistry, earth sciences, materials science, & physics |
| Scirus: For scientific information only | Access to scientific journals as well as unpublished research, university websites |
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Educational Resource Searches |
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| Technologies for Learning Database | Information on the technologies used to develop and deliver online education |
| Eric Resources Search | Search hundreds of thousands of documents and download them free |
| Gateway to Education Materials | Provides educators with access to collections of educational materials in federal, state, university, non-profit, and commercial Internet sites. |
| Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services Database | Database of materials describing culturally and linguistically appropriate practices for early childhood/early intervention services |
| Mathline (Searchable Video Database) | Helps teachers quickly and easily find standards-based Mathline video clips and lesson plans on different mathematical topics |
| Reading Pathfinder Database | Information on how to help children become competent readers by about third grade. |
| Higher Education Databases | Searchable databases with college information |
| Online Distance Education Catalog (Globewide Network Academy) | A comprehensive directory of distance learning opportunities throughout the world |
| Directory of resources for improving elementary foreign language programs | |
| Education Resource Organizations Directory | Identify and contact organizations that provide information and assistance on a broad range of education-related topics. |
| Find the correct name, address, telephone number, NCES ID number, urbanicity (rural, large city, etc.), for public schools or school districts | |
| Test Locator | Assistance in locating tests and test reviews. |
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Directories - created and maintained by human editors who review and select sites for inclusion. |
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| Academic Info | A well organized directory of carefully selected sites |
| Infomine | A multi-disciplined, annotated directory of over 40,000 links to "university level research and educational tools |
| About.com | They gather sites related to their particular field of interest, provide guidance |
| The Internet Public Library | Arranged like a library with a Reference Centre, Reading Room, Subject Collections and Special Collections |
| Librarian's Index to the Internet | A searchable, annotated subject directory of more than 11,000 Internet resources selected and evaluated by librarians for their usefulness to users |
| Resource Discovery Network | Websites selected are relevant to learning, teaching and research |
| FindArticles.com | published articles that can be searched |
| Internet Archive | A digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form |
| Yahoo! Directory | A new, streamlined interface to this well-established directory |
| FindLaw |
Legal resources on the Internet for legal professions, businesses, students and individuals |
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Databases - Collections of Information |
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| MagPortal.com | Search available magazine articles on the Web, |
| FindArticles | Search articles from "leading academic, industry and general interest publications |
| PubMed | Biomedical books, articles and databases |
| On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences | This site will complete the sequence and provide the sequence name, along with its mathematical formula for any number sequence you type. |
| Nuclear Explosions Database | Provides location, time, & size of explosions worldwide since 1945 |
| NatureServe Explorer | Online encyclopedia for plants, animals, and ecosystems in United States and Canada. |
| Educator's Reference Desk | Lesson plans, educational information, expert digest reports and much more |
| AnimalSearch | Family-safe animal-related sites |
| CompletePlanet | BrightPlanet's site contains searchable databases, specialty search engines |
| Profusion | Allows you to target your search by using specialized search engines |
| ResourceShelf | Various Web research tools, |
| Directory of Open Access Journals | Search articles in the science and humanities/social sciences. |
| HighWire Press: Free Online Full-text Articles | Free full-text life science articles in the world, |
| Super Searchers Web Page | A growing collection of links to subject-specific Web resources |
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Interesting Collections of Information |
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| OAIster | From the University of Michigan |
| The Combined Health Information Database | Find about anything to do with health |
| Human Genome Database | About DNA |
| Plants Database | USDA site |
| Archival Records of Alberta | Canadian Archives |
| National Database of Nonprofit Organizations | Information on non profits throughout the country |
| Directory of Open Access Journals | Scientific and scholarly journals |
| EEVL Xtra, | Engineering, mathematics and computing databases |
| Repository of Primary Sources, | From University of Idaho |
| UCLA Library | Special collections |
| Infoplease.com | General search engine |
| World Factbook, | From the CIA Great almanac type info |
| FirstGov.gov | US Government's official web portal |
| Library Spot | Collection of databases |