Internet Directories and Search Engines
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Internet Directories: |
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What they do:
· Organize links to other websites into categories and subcategories
· Are created by human beings who select best links and classify them for a particular audience
· Given results are fewer than with a search engine
· List more reliable sites when created by a respected source |
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How they work:
· Organize links into subject or alphabetical lists (sometimes called “indexes”)
· Different directories organize information differently
· May have an internal search engine
· May have a way of filtering results (e.g. by country, by media)
· Use when you want results that have been selected by an authoritative source, such as a library or educational institute |
Recommended Directories:
Search Engines:
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What they do:
· Electronically gather Internet information into a database
· Can filter results by narrowing terms (by country, by date)
· Search a database using keywords and Boolean logic with AND, OR, and NOT operators |
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How they work:
· Search engines do NOT search the Internet, but only that engine’s database
· Different databases give different results
· Companies may pay to list their sites first
· Browse from a wide range of results to find a particular reference
· Combine specific keywords
· Read the Help page to understand other features and use Advanced Search features to narrow the search |
Recommended Search Engines:
* Buckley, Peter and Duncan Clark, Rough guide to the Internet. 2006 edition. London: Rough Guides, 2005.
Pages 128-131
Research Success@ Your Library: A Guide for Secondary Students. Toronto: Toronto District School
Board, 2005.
M. Byrne, Rev'd June 2008