Navigating the Web
	TUTORIALS AND GUIDES
	SEARCH TOOLS
	EVALUATING INTERNET RESOURCES
	SUBJECT LISTS
	SEARCH ENGINES

The Internet is a worldwide network of computers which interconnects workstations on many different systems. It includes all kinds of electronic information, such as texts, images, audio, video, and programs.

There are two main types of search tools: Subject Lists of Resources that have been compiled by experts, and Search Engines which permit keyword searching of files as they search through directories of computer servers connected to the Internet. Different search programs use different logic when constructing a search from your keywords.

Regardless of which search engine you use, it really pays to find out how it works. Take the time to read the search tips on the respective sites. Especially, note how the search engines handle searches that include more than one word. Most, but not all, engines return results that include any of the words you provide.

TUTORIALS AND GUIDES

For tutorials of how the Net works and how to navigate the Web:
• How to Search the Web
• Learn the Net

SEARCH TOOLS

For a compilation of Internet search tools:
• Search Tools Chart
• USNA Search the Internet

EVALUATING INTERNET RESOURCES

For help in evaluating resources on the Internet:
• Argus Clearinghouse: Information: Rating System
• Bibliography on Evaluating Web Information
• Thinking Critically About World Wide Web Resources

SUBJECT LISTS

• Argus Clearinghouse from U. Michigan, a comprehensive guide which has more scholarly content and is well organized.
• Defense Special Reports Online provides a variety of links to government, military and education Internet sites.
• Nimitz Librarians' Subject Guides (Research Guides By Subject). These sites have been chosen by subject specialists in Nimitz Library. They are especially appropriate for class-related searching.
• Yahoo! has both subject lists and a search engine. Yahoo! works well if you're searching for general information on a subject, but because of the way information is indexed in Yahoo!, you may not get great results if you're looking for something specific.

SEARCH ENGINES

• Alta Vista creates complete indexes of every word on every Web page or Usenet newsgroup it encounters, allowing you to make highly targeted searches. Alta Vista searches by keywords, which it derives from the text of a Web page. Alta vista updates its information constantly and each page returned from the search is given a date and time from Alta Vista's most recent update.
• Excite features its "Confidence Rating," a percentage rating given to each of the results it returns; a higher percentage indicates a closer match to your original query. In addition, Excite gives you the option to view more documents similar to those described in that particular result. A new feature of Excite is so-called channels. Channels are groupings of websites, according to categories, such as News, Sports and Shopping. Language searching is possible.
• Go.com (formerly Infoseek) searches by keywords, scanning the information in its database. With Go.com, you can search a variety of databases, including the Web, Usenet, and E-mail addresses. Go.com returns the "best" matches to your query. Go.com also groups websites into categories, similar to Excite.
• Google is a very fast and sophisticated search engine which is more likely than most to give you relevant results. It searches both for matches to all the words you enter and for matches to which other paes link.
• HotBot, from the folks who publish Wired Magazine, performs fast and powerful keyword searches of websites and newsgroups. Search results are ranked according to a confidence rating. HotBot has a super searcher feature that allows you to specify levels within pages. It features phrase searching and finds images, sounds, etc.
• Lycos is a web-indexing robot. That means Lycos software robots actually go out and travel the Internet every day looking for new Web, Gopher, and FTP sites. Lycos searches by keywords, assigning a percentage rating for relevancy of each search return.
• Northern Light provides a list of results from free and fee (4500 "Special Collections") Web resources. Generates customized subject folders for each search, which serve as sub-categories.

Last updated: 10 December 2003