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What is a Search Engine?
A search engine is a web page that is connected to a database of URL’s (web addresses.) A search engine allows you to enter specific words or phrases that are then compared to a database, which returns URL’s that fit the search criteria you entered. Search engines can be general or specific. The table below lists some of the most commonly used search engines and their internet locations.
| Engine Name | URL (Web Address) |
|---|---|
| AltaVista | http://www.altavista.com |
| Excite | http://www.excite.com |
| HotBot | http://www.hotbot.com |
| InfoSeek | http://www.infoseek.com |
| Lycos | http://www.lycos.com |
| http://www.google.com | |
| LookSmart | http://www.looksmart.com |
A metasearch engine is a search engine that searches various other search engines. Metasearch engines then allow you to see which search engine returns the most or best results of information related to your search question. The table below lists some of the most commonly used metasearch engines and their internet locations.
| Engine Name | URL (Web Address) |
|---|---|
| Ixquick | http://www.ixquick.com |
| Dogpile | http://www.dogpile.com |
| Metacrawler | http://www.metacrawler.com |
| Profusion | http://www.profusion.com |
Sites for Evaluating the Efficiency of Results for Various Search Engines
The following web sites will provide you valuable information that will allow you to determine the value of the content and number of resources you will be able to find when using various search engines. It might be beneficial to look at some of these statistics before deciding which engine(s) you will use in your searches.
- http://www.searchengineshowdown.com/stats/index.shtml
“Measuring the size of the constantly changing Web search engine databases is a complex task. The following Size Showdowns are based on the hits from actual search results. See also Why size matters. Size statistics last updated Mar. 4-6, 2002.” - http://www.searchengineworld.com/misc/ratings.htm
Commentary and Analysis of the top search engines. - http://www.ivyjoy.com/rayne/kidssearch.html
This site contains safe internet Search engines for Kids. - http://www.Yahooligans.com
Safe Search engine for children.
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