Merrill Warkentin's Web Info Page

Merrill Warkentin's Web Searching Portal

The Web is like a huge library with all the books spilled all over the floor. However, the search engines and directories make it easy to find almost anything you could think of (and things you never thought of!). The key is learning when to choose a search engine and when to choose a directory. Then know which search engine or which directory is best for your current search. To be an expert, learn how to perform the Boolean searches. Learn how to NARROW your search (be very specific). Many tools offer separate simple search and advanced search forms; each has its advantages. You should check the help screens with each tool because they all use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT, NEAR, +, -, etc.) differently. One more tip - not all sites have an easy navigation bar back to Home, so learn to "chop down" the URL by deleting the last part of the address in your browser's address box. Here is the leading Search Engine and the leading Directory. Do you know the difference?

Meta-Search Engines - Search the Search Engines!

These actually query the other search engines with one search. They will go out to the search engines for you and bring back all the hits to one place. (Some even bypass all the banner ads from those other sites.)

searches all major search engines besides Google

improved relevance

37.com

More Search Engines (most have Directories also)

Netscape Search Tools - COOL! - Dictionary, Encyclopedia, Zip Codes, Maps, etc.
Alta Vista - Simple Search and Advanced Search
HotBot and their EXCELLENT Advanced Search Tool (Inktomi based)
AskJeeves - just ask regular questions, don't worry about syntax
WebCrawler
AllTheWeb - "All the Web, all the time"
LookSmart - very simple

Learn all about Search Engines at SearchEngineWatch. Or use the Internet Archive and its "Way Back Machine" to see how old web pages looked in the past!

Broad Directories - All Subjects ("Portals"), Access to Everything

Yahoo - the classic, arranged in hierarchical categories
MSN - probably the #2 Directory today (from Microsoft)
Essential Links - great portal to the world of information - Check it out!
The Internet Public Library Reference Center
Time.com - Time Warner's collection
Go.com - Was once the fastest and most comprehensive
Netscape - nice selection of features
Electronic Library (W3C) - search hundreds of magazines and newspapers here

Narrow Directories - focused on a specific area ...

Business Resources (more will be added)

CEO Express - connecting busy executives with information that matters
Business Research in Information & Technology
Tax and Accounting Sites Directory
U.S. Small Business Administration - info to help you

Legal Resources (including patents)

big list of law directories (from taxsites.com)
law.com - "your portal to the law"
LawInfo.com - Legal Research and other Resources
FindLaw - Internet Legal Resources
LawGuru.com - practical answers to all your legal questions!
WashLaw Web - comprehensive site with links to everything!
Legal Information Institute - from Cornell Law School
Electronic Reference Desk - from Emory Law School
Intellectual Property Network - with 26 years of US Patent Office descriptions
The Legal Pad (not with Netscape 4.7!) - a fun site with serious resources plus lawyer jokes and legal clipart!
Federal & State Cases
- Supreme Court (cases from Findlaw.com)
- First Circuit Opinions - from Emory Law School site
State & Federal Information
- FirstGov - the U.S. Official Government's Official Web Portal
- egov - the official website for eGovernment in the U.S.
- the U.S. Code
- Federal Register - and other GPO documents
- Federal legislation
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
  - IRS - tax forms & publications
- U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Edgar filings
Lawyers
- Martindale-Hubbell
- Find a Lawyer at Findlaw.com
- Yahoo's List of Attorneys Lists
- Yahoo's List of Law Firms - by practice type
Other Legal Resources
- Impact of Search Engines on Legal Profession - Part 1 - What to Search for and How
- Impact of Search Engines on Legal Profession - Part 2 - Finding People and Redefining "Discovery"
- International Human Rights Collection ("Diana")
Resources about Information Privacy
- Electronic Frontier Foundation - all about online privacy
- Electronic Privacy Information Center
- Privacy.org - the site for news, info, and action
- Privacy.net - the Consumer Information Privacy Organization
- the Health Privacy Project
- the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
- the Online Privacy Alliance and their Guidelines for Privacy Policies
- the IBM Privacy Research Institute

Yellow Pages / White Pages / Finders

AltaVista's Switchboard - great starting point, but check out others also ...
- AltaVista'a people finder
- AltaVista's Business Finder
big list of all the online yellow pages, white pages, and lots more ... (scroll down)
SuperPages.com - a new kind of yellow pages, including maps and directions!
the Yahoo People Finder - The Internet White Pages (find emails, phone numbers, celebrities, etc.)
555-1212.com - area codes, phone numbers, email addresses, etc.
Info Space - the most comprehensive new directory of people and businesses!
WhoWhere? - finding people and companies on the Internet
Bigfoot - find people online AND also get free email for life!
Computer and Communications Page - links to IT industry sites (company home pages)
College Email Addresses - with guide for sending email to people at various universities
Mapquest - find any place in the US / Driving directions

Genealogy Resources

Yahoo's excellent set of links to geneology resources
FamilyTreeMaker Online - check out Genealogy Help and SiteFinder
Cindi's List - over 50,000 Links (you can find it here)
The Genealogy Page from the National Archives
The National Genealogical Society
RootsWeb.com - FREE Genealogy Community - brought to you by Ancestry.com
Internet Family Finder (from Lycos) - brought to you by Genealogy.com
the USGenWeb Project - with archives and Help for Researchers
Genealogy Resources from the US Census Bureau - How common is your last name?

Other Narrow Directories of interest

NBCi.com and MSNBC - all about NBC news, sports, and entertainment
Word Wide Web Consortium (W3C) - who runs the Web?????
On-line CS Techreports
Gorp.com - for outdoors enthusiasts
there are thousands of other directories (or portals) for all kinds of information

Merrill Warkentin's Web Searching Portal

Meta-Search Engines - Search the Search Engines!

More Search Engines (most have Directories also)

Broad Directories - All Subjects ("Portals"), Access to Everything

Narrow Directories - focused on a specific area ...

Downloadable Search Engines to put on your own site - - most free