Need additional search ideas? Try NoodleQuest (interactive version) I need help to define my topic... I need a topic
I need to understand the scope of my topic Intute Investigate annotated academic sites INFOMINE Browse annotated research and educational sites enhanced by second-tier "robot-selected" results
I need to investigate alternative or related topics Grokker Explore a web of your topic and subtopics (Yahoo results) Clusty Uncover buried sites by choosing a related cluster Ask.com Select "Expand Your Search"
I need to refine and narrow my topic Ask.com Select "Narrow Your Search" Clusty Drill down into a cluster of results SurfWax Click "Focus" to identify similar, broader, and narrower topics
I need to find quality results... authoritative and scholarly sites chosen by a subject expert
personal help from experts
sites ranked or tagged as valuable or relevant Google High PageRank means popular, relevant sites link to the page Technorati Browse or search user-identified subjects ("tags") for blog advice or opinionsAsk.com High ExpertRank indicates subject-specific popularity
primary sources
I need to do research in a specific discipline... government
science, engineering and technology
health and life sciences
law
arts and humanities
The timeliness of information that I need is... today Google News Top news stories auto-generated every 15 minutes NewsNow Worldwide news auto-generated every 5 minutes 10x10 Explore machine-compiled single image composed hourly of 100 words and pictures that "matter most" on a global scale
recent Yahoo News One month archive with editor-created "roundups" in Full Coverage World News Network Click a category (below news item) to gather related news or images, select Mon-Sun to track story's development Google News Click on "related" (below news item) to see story's development
historical American Memory Search America's primary source documents and images, browse by topic, time period, medium or place Librarians' Internet Index Drill down into the history section or search fewer, broader terms (e.g., "terrorists" not "Righteous Path") Digital History High-quality historical resources, primary sources, multimedia, subject guides
ancient
I need facts... a person
a place CIA World Factbook Select country for basic profile and transnational issues Country Studies Cross-search or view a country (last update 1998) - historical, social, economic, political and national security dataStately Knowledge Basic U.S. state facts, links to state government site and encyclopedia (IPL KidSpace)
a company
general reference answers
news background (facts, people, and documents)
I need opinions and perspectives... I want opinions on current issues
I need news from other countries' perspectives
I want multiple perspectives on hot social and political topics
I want to compare news treatment Newseum Compare news reporting on U.S. front pages PressDisplay Compare news reporting from 55 countries
I need a specific type of media... maps
photographs and visual images
fine art
videos Yahoo Video Search Search by keyword or phrase, use advanced search to limit by file format, size, duration and domain Truveo Video-only search engine, advanced search limits by title, description, actor, director, genre, duration, quality Internet Archive: Moving Image Archive Search public domain films, newsreels, ads, documentaries, television series and other “cultural artifacts”
radio
music AltaVista Audio Search Search for MP3s and other types of music files, limiting results by file type and song duration. Google To find song lyrics, search (in quotes) title or performer (plus) "song lyrics," to find information about the song's history search title (in quotes) and "origin"
sounds FindSounds Get sound effects and music samples: select a keyword or search a term limited by file format, quality and size Soundsnap Free, user-contributed sounds can be browsed or searched by category, keyword or tag
speeches
quotations
statistical data
dictionary or thesaurus (for definitions, etymology, pronunciation, synonyms)
encyclopedia Columbia Encyclopedia Factual information (updated 6/05) Wikipedia Volunteer-created and collaboratively edited: valuable for current topics (e.g., people in the news), technology (e.g., podcasting) -- information quality uneven
almanac data
books and other printed works WorldCat Search for books and reviews, options to refine results, check your local library's holdings Google Scholar Search (free and fee) scholarly works, locate related information using "cited by" links, use advanced search to limit (author, date, phrase, in title, subject area) A9 Search for books by keyword, then "Search Inside!" to see keyword-in-context
I have special search requirements... run my search periodically and be notified of new results GoogleAlert Run Google search of 3 interests and get e-mail or RSS notification of new results Google Alerts Run periodic Google searches and get e-mail (no RSS) notification of new results
specify a country where my search results are located
use a search engine outside the U.S.
find sites organized by the Dewey Decimal System or Library of Congress Classification
locate resources by file type Google Limit search by file type (.pdf, .ps, .doc, .xls, .ppt, .rtf)Yahoo Limit search by file type (.html, .pdf, .doc, .xls, .ppt, .xml, .txt)
I am... a kid KidsClick! Find kid-friendly sites with educational content (grades K-7) selected by librarians Ask Kids Search by keyword, then select the best-match question for answers and links Yahoo Kids Select from kid-safe sites (grades 2- 7) organized by topic
pretty new to the Internet
an Internet wizard Exalead Configure highly-specific searches including proximity ("folk tales NEAR sun"), but smaller index than Google or Yahoo INFOMINE Configure a narrow search of a large, comprehensive academic virtual library (Web sites, databases, electronic journals, electronic books, bulletin boards, directories of researchers)JUX2 Compare results to Identify the strengths of Google, Yahoo and MSN for your search
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