Subject Specific Resources
These are Search Engines and Classified Directories that are limited to a particular subject area. Subject Specific Gateways are often maintained by experts in the subject they are focussed on and are therefore often very accurate and detailed.
| Name | Subject | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2.1.2. | Music | Classified Directory | USA |
| The Academic Directory | UK Academic Information | Search Engine | UK |
| Achoo | Healthcare | Classified Directory | Canada |
| ADAM* | Architecture, Design And Media | Classified Directory | UK |
| Aqueous | Water Related | Search Engine | ? |
| ASE | Airport Search Engine | Search Engine | Germany |
| BizAds Business Locator | Businesses | Search Engine | USA |
| CampSearch | Summer Camps | Search Engine | USA |
| Cinemachine | Movie Reviews | Search Engine | ? |
| Computer ESP | Computer Companies and Products | Classified Directory | USA |
| EEVL | Edinburgh Engineering Virtual Library | Classified Directory | UK |
| 1st Global Directory | Business Products and Services | Classified Directory | USA |
| Motherload | Web Directories and Search Engines | Classified Directory | USA |
| NetMall | Goods and Services | Classified Directory | USA |
| OMNI * | Medical | Classified Directory | UK |
| SHAREWARE.COM | Software | Search Engine | USA |
| SOSIG * | Social Sciences | Classified Directory | UK |
| Sports Directory | Sport | Classified Directory | USA |
Search Engines
The following table lists popular World Wide Web Search Engines showing a comparison of what we consider to be useful features. Search Engines are automated tools that employ robots to find and retrieve Web pages. These pages are then analysed and indexed automatically. Search Engines are usually interrogated by user supplied keywords but some also provide a browsable classified directory.
Y indicates the feature is supported.
| General | Search Options | Presentation of Results | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Fully Indexed |
Boolean | Proximity | Natural Language |
Phrase Matching |
Classified Directory |
Abstract | Relevance Score |
Date |
| Alta Vista | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | - | Y | - | Y |
| Excite | Y | Y | - | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | - |
| Y | - | Y | ? | - | - | Y | Y | Y | |
| Go to | Y | - | - | - | - | Y | Y | - | - |
| HotBot | Y | Y | - | - | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Infoseek | Y | Y | - | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Lycos | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | - |
| Planet Search | Y | Y | - | - | - | - | Y | Y | Y |
| WebCrawler | Y | Y | - | Y | Y | Y | - | Y | - |
| What-u-seek | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | - | - |
Classified Directories
These tools organise information on the Web into a browsable classification hierarchy. Most Directories also provide a keyword search facility. Information is gathered by user input (i.e. they do not employ a robot) and usually the user specifies the category to which the resource belongs and relevant keywords. These resources tend to be more accurate, because of the human intervention, but less comprehensive because of the lack of automation.
| Name | Search Facility? | Initial Categories | Site Reviews | Advanced Search |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy | Y | 11 | - | Y |
| G.O.D. | Y | 14 | Y | Y |
| Identify | Y | 14 | - | - |
| i-explorer | Y | 21 | - | Y |
| Link Centre | Y | 14 | - | - |
| Link Monster | Y | 27 | - | - |
| Magellan | Y | 15 | Y | Y |
| Nerd World | Y | 23 | Y | - |
| Search.com | Y | 25 | - | - |
| Yellow Pages | Y | 101 | Y | - |
| Yahoo | Y | 14 | Y | Y |
Meta Search Engines
These interfaces enable you to submit your query to several Search Engines at once. Some merely provide an interface and others post process the query to provide one set of results.
| Name | Alta Vista | Excite | InfoSeek | Lycos | WebCrawler | Yahoo | HotBot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aesir | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | - | - |
| All 4 One | Y | - | - | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Cyber411 | Y | Y | - | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Dogpile | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | - |
| Highway61 | - | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | - |
| Find It | Y | - | - | - | - | Y | - |
| Internet Sleuth | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | - |
| MetaCrawler | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | - |
| Metasearch | Y | - | Y | Y | Y | - | - |
| The Otis Index | - | - | Y | Y | - | Y | - |
| Pro Fusion | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| StartingPoint | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
Geographically Specific Resources
These are Search Engines and Classified Directories that are limited to a particular geographical domain. They can be useful for locating local information outside the U.S.
| Name | Country | Type |
|---|---|---|
| AAA World Matilda | Australia | Search Engine |
| ANANZI | South Africa | Search Engine |
| ANZWERS | Australia & New Zealand | Search Engine |
| Channel Hong Kong | Hong Kong | Search Engine |
| Euroferret | Europe | Search Engine |
| Kolibri | Germany | Search Engine |
| Search.NL | Holland | Search Engine |
| Search UK | UK | Search Engine |
| Swiss Search | Switzerland | Search Engine |
| TechnoFind | Singapore | Search Engine |
| UK Index | UK | Classified Directory |
| UK Plus | UK | Classified Directory |
| The UK Web Library | UK | Classified Directory |
| YELL | UK | Classified Directory |
| ZZZ | Estonia | Search Engine |
Since 17 MAR 1999