Internet Research: Which Search Tool Should I Use?

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General Tips for Searching the Web

Using Metasearch Engines

Using Search Engines

Using Catalogues/Indexes

Using Other Search Tools and Resources

Search Tools and Directories

Starting Points for Internet Research

Online Resources

Which Search Tool Should I Use?

Although the Online Writing Lab does not endorse any of these search engines, past experience has shown that these sites are useful for searching about the topics listed.

Topic Area	Suggested Search Engine
Agriculture	The Big Hub: The Big Hub has a high success rate for searches for a wide variety of agriculture terms.
Consumer and Family Sciences	Dogpile: Dogpile categorizes search results by search engine, so if one search engine is more helpful for your particular search, you can continue your search exclusively with that search engine.
Education	About.com or Yahoo: Although not exhaustive, both sites index several education resources and articles.
Engineering	Google: Google is a good starting point due to the scope of its search.
Health Sciences	Yahoo: Yahoo includes a comprehensive health guide as part of its index system.
Liberal Arts	Google: Google has a high return rate for most liberal arts topics.
Management	Lycos: Lycos offers an extensive index on business topics, and the search tool finds additional sites for management topics.
Nursing	Yahoo: The Yahoo! Health index is a helpful reference for nursing related topics.
Pharmacal Sciences	Yahoo: Yahoo's extensive index on health related topics includes resources about pharmacal sciences topics.
Science	Excite: Excite is a powerful search tool for a variety of science related topics.
Technology	Snap: Snap returns search results for your technology term and suggests related search terms that might produce additional results.
Veterinary Medicine	Go.com: Go.com has a helpful pet index for pet owners, and the search tool has a high return rate for topics of interest to veterinary students.

Tip: If you are struggling to find web sites related to your topic, try using a metasearch engine. Since the size of its search is extensive, your chances for finding the information you want often improve.

Designed by Jessie Moore

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