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Internet Information Tool Resources

This page contains links to a wide range of tools you can use to find what you are looking for on the Internet. The tools are arranged by type, and the page has been formatted so that you can print it out and use it as a reference (although it’s going to waste quite a bit of paper!!!)

How the Tools are Organized:

Directories (Subject Guides) - Human-made reference sites that categorize Web sites and allow users to browse the categories or type in keywords and search for Web sites. Are much smaller than search engines, but often contain higher quality lists of sites.

Virtual Libraries - Directories that have been created by information specialists (librarians) and often focus on “academic” types of subjects.

Search Engines - Very large, indexed databases of Internet resources. Are created using "spider" programs that crawl the web 24x7x365, automatically gathering information about sites and transferring it back to the search engine for indexing.

Meta-Search Engines - Web interfaces that allow you to search multiple search engines at a time. You type in keywords and the meta-search tool submits your query to multiple engines, and then sorts the results that are returned.

Search Engine Portals and Information – Web sites that provide information about the thousands of directories, search engines, and specialized databases, and give you links to those sites.

Bots, Intelligent Agents, and Search Tools – Software, browser toolbars, and online interfaces that provide added help when doing Internet research. The tools vary from a “quick search” toolbar that’s added to your browser, to downloadable software that provides enhanced meta-searching and organization of search results. Many of these tools are free, but some are commercial.

News Search Engines – Search engines that specialize in searching online news archives and sites.

News Portals and Hubs – Web sites that specialize in cataloging newspapers, news articles, and magazines, and make those items available in full-text form. Many of these sites are free, but some charge for full article retrieval.

Specialized Databases - A small selection of Web sites that contain information about a particular topic, or contain references to other Web sites that contain topic-specific information. Included here are general reference sites, dictionaries, and encyclopedias.

People Finders - Web sites that contain large directories of names, addresses, and phone numbers. Most get their information from local phone books. Some allow you to also search for E-mail addresses.

Business Finders - Like people finders, but are focused on businesses

The Invisible Web / Deep Content – Web sites that provide access to information found in online databases that cannot be indexed by traditional search engines or directories. Most “deep content’ sites consist of information that is dynamically displayed as a result of a direct query.

Evaluating Internet Resources – Sites that contain information about evaluating Web content, copyright laws, and how to cite Web and Internet references.