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Search Engines

There are many different search engines. Each can give you different results for the same search. The best strategy is to learn to use 2 or 3 search engines by reading their search tips. 

Popular Search Engines include: 
Ask  - www.ask.com
Clusty - www.clusty.com – a meta search engine that uses several search engines at once.
Google - www.google.com 
Live (MSN) – www.live.com
Scirus - www.scirus.com (For scientific information only)
Yahoo! search - search.yahoo.com

Basic Strategies for Search Engines: 
1. Become familiar with the search tips for each search engine. 
2. Check for proper spelling and typos. 
3. Be specific and use phrases, rather than single words.
4. Phrases can often be entered in quotation marks for better results, i.e. "global warming" or "acid rain",
5. Can you use AND, OR, or NOT? This varies with each search engine. Check for tips or use the advanced search.
6. Some search engines will use a + or – before words instead of and or not.

For more information on searching, try:
Searching the Internet: Frequently Asked Questions

For a detailed chart on Google search tips developed by the FC Library (with thanks to InfoPeople),  try: Extreme Googling: Getting More Out of Google

For a more detailed explanation of the different the major search engines, meta search engines and subject directories, plus tips for searching them, visit the: 
InfoPeople Search Tools Chart 

Last update: December 5, 2007