“Best of Search Engines”
This page shows links to the Search
Engines which I have found to be the most helpful and well-organized when
researching topics on the Internet. I
have listed five types of Search Engines and included my two favorite finds
under each type. In order to qualify,
the search engine had to provide sufficient findings for my topics of search on
the first query and be easy to use and understand how to link to the information.
Kid Safe Search Engines
#1 - AskJeeves – This is a very kid friendly
search engine. Students in the primary
and intermediate grades will find this search engine useful. Searches are
asked in a question format. For students
who do not know how to formulate their question, they can click on the
"Study Tools" and will be provided with links in question
format. Kids can search for information
by asking a question such as “Where is
#2 - HotBot – I like this search engine
for kids because of how the search results are neatly listed and have very
short, concise sentences to show the contents of the webpage. This font format and data organization may
help kids to narrow down the confusion of hits that are sometimes received with
search engines like Google and Yahoo.
General Search Engines
# 1 - Google – This is the search engine that I use
for almost everything. It gives you the
most hits in the shortest amount of time.
However, you must be savvy in how to conduct your search due to the
number of sites in which your search will result. Usually the first page or two of results
should contain the information for which you are searching. If it does not, I will refine my search by
changing my wording or use wording from a similar web site to try to find my
topic.
#2 - Yahoo! – I also use this search engine
because my email account is set up through Yahoo. I also like this search engine because it
gives you a decent amount of hits to websites and gives suggestions as to other
ways to search for your topic. Although
Google gives you more hits, Yahoo’s font format makes it easier to read and
pick out the sites in which you may be most interested.
News Search Engines
#1 - Google News – This news search engine is
well constructed and easy to navigate. I
like the fact that you can customize the page in order to find your interests
even more quickly. It also uses more
pictures and graphics along with the headlines and displays an easy-to-find
index on the left to easily query certain types of news such as
#2 - Yahoo! News – This news search engine is also
well constructed and easy to navigate.
It has an easy-to-use tab across the top to easily access the different
categories of news such as
Medical Search Engines
#1 - MedicineNet – This
search engine is great for researching information about medical conditions,
medications, procedures and signs and symptoms.
There is a search field in which you can enter your search subject or
tabs with A-Z lists to find information in case you may not know the exact
spelling of the condition. When you
search for a medical term, this search provides an organized list of all the
pertaining categories in which you can find information about that
condition. It also includes a handy
dictionary tab for correct definition, pronunciation and spelling of the term.
#2 - MedlinePlus – This search engine has an
easy-to-use index on the left of the page to seek out the information for which
you are looking. It includes information
on health topics, medications, a medical encyclopedia, and dictionary. The information is listed in A-Z lists. It also gives links to recent articles posted
to the New York Times Syndicate, Reuters Health Info and others.
Shopping Search Engines
#1 - Froogle – I liked the Froogle search
engine the most for shopping for several reasons. You could enter your product in the search
field and an organized list with the picture of the product was displayed. You are able to enter a price range to narrow
down the results of your search according to your monetary needs. And a list of websites linked directly to
stores in which you can find your product is displayed.
#2 - BizRate – This shopping search engine is
easy to use and well-organized with pictures and lists. There is a tab at the top to easily find
general categories of interest. You can
also enter your price range according to your monetary needs. The product sites are also rated according to
customer scoring with a four level ranking system using smiley faces and
ribbons. There is a nice list of related
searches given at the bottom of the page.