Wellesley College Library
Search the Web
This page contains links to various search tools freely available on the World Wide Web. Since many of these search tools do not screen Web sites for quality (i.e. it could be written by a school-aged child), you must evaluate all the information you find. More information about this is available in the Evaluation/Critical Thinking About Information section of this page.
NOTE: Before searching the WWW, we recommend that you begin your research with one of the high-quality databases to which Wellesley College subscribes. These databases provide access to an enormous amount of scholarly information which cannot be found by any of the search tools on this page. See our e-Resources A-Z and Research Resources: Organized by Subject pages for these databases.
Please read any usage agreement associated with information contained within a database (except those listed on the e-Resources A-Z list) that you may find searching the Internet.
- Indicates site recommended
by Wellesley College Library's Research and Instruction Group staff
DIRECTORIES and SEARCH ENGINES - Directories have results clustered by category and can be browsed; Search engines have lists of results. | ||||
Tips: Use quotes around phrases / minus sign to exclude
a word / (often) * to truncate a word |
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Help with AltaVista |
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Help with Argus |
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Help with Britannica |
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Help with Excite |
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Help with Google |
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Google Directory | Help with Google Directory | ||
Help with HotBot |
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Infomine | For help, click on Search Tips | ||
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Help with Index |
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Scout Report Archives | Help with Scout Report Archives | ||
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Help with Yahoo |
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INFORMATION FROM THE U.S. GOVERNMENT - Search engines that specifically search government Web sites. | ||||
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FirstGov | Help with FirstGov | ||
Google Uncle Sam | Help with Google Uncle Sam | |||
METASEARCH ENGINES - Sites that run your search in several search engines simultaneously. | ||||
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ixquick | Help with ixquick | ||
Help with Metacrawler |
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Query Server | Help with Query Server | |||
Vivisimo | Help with Vivisimo | |||
Search Tools Comparison Chart - part of the InfoPeople Project
EVALUATION/CRITICAL THINKING ABOUT INFORMATION- Sites with guidelines for evaluating information on Web pages | |
The ICYouSee Guide to Critical Thinking About What You See on the Web (Ithaca College Library) |
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Evaluating Web Resources (Wolfgram Memorial Library, Widener University) |
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Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources (UCLA College Library) |
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Tips for Evaluating a World Wide Web Search (University of Florida) |
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Evaluating Information (Purdue University Libraries) - includes information about evaluating books, periodical articles, and Web sites | |
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT INTERNET SEARCHING - Reviews, lists of search engines, searching tips, and more. | |
Search Engine Watch by Danny Sullivan | |
Search Engine Showdown by Greg Notess | |
ResearchBuzz by Tara Calishain |