Staff + Student LoginInternet Search Tools - Details
| Search Engines | Metasearch Engines | Subject Directories | NZ Search Tools |
Search Engines
| NZ Search Engines | Start with a NZ search tool when looking for New Zealand information |
Use a Search Engine when you are looking for specific
information, or you want to search for particular file types, source locations,
or languages. Use the HELP screens to see how to get the best results from each tool. Northern Light has been removed from this list as it no longer provides free access to its services. |
| One of the largest search engines; results are ranked relevance based on sites' linkages and authority; searches most stop words. | ||
| Alltheweb | Large and fast: No stop words. | |
| Altavista | Advanced search enables precise searching using Boolean operators; handles foreign language well | |
| Scirus | Use Search Tips for comprehensive instructions. Searches web sites containing scientific content and covers both free and subscription sources. Check the catalogue to see if we have access to specific journals. | |
| Search Engine Watch | Search engine information | |
| Search Engine Showdown | Search engine information and reviews. |
Meta Search Engines
| Metaeureka | Plain, but gets excellent results; includes a subject directory |
Meta search engines allow you to search
multiple search engines in one step. Use a meta search tool when searching a specific topic for which there is little information available and where your search term is reasonably unique |
| Dogpile | Searches subject directories, usenet news, mailing lists, FTP collections & Web pages; uses some advanced search operators if the database searched has them. | |
| Ixquick | Searches 14 engines; hits ranked by relevancy; includes information on search engines results came from | |
| BigHub.com | searches multiple engines, directories, and newsgroup databases simultaneously | |
| Vivisimo | Field searching (url, host, title); sorts results into folders; excellent advanced search facility | |
| Metacrawler | Excellent multithreaded searching; recognizes any words, all words, and as a phrase options |
Subject Directories
| NZ directories | Limit your search to NZ information | Subject directories are arranged and classified in hierarchical topics. This allows you to browse by category and narrow or broaden your search without needing to be precise about your search term. Use a subject directory when you want a range of information on a topic. Many subject directories have a keyword search facility - browse down to a relevant category, then enter your search term and limit your search to that category only |
| Extensive directory; headings are geared toward popular topics; includes search engine | ||
| Yahoo | Large directory databases; good for popular & general information; includes search engine | |
| dmoz: open directory project | Large directory databases; multiple languages; includes search engine | |
| WWW Virtual Library | Good for academic information; maintained by subject specialists | |
| Britannica.com | Scholarly, academic focus; Integration of periodical articles & Encyclopaedia Britannica | |
| Infomine | Scholarly Internet resources; searchable | |
| Librarians' Index to the Internet | Quality sites; excellent annotations and reviews | |
| Pinakes | Good starting point for academic collections | |
| Best Information On The Net | Aimed at university students; includes resources by major & hot paper topics | |
| BUBL LINK | Focused on British Internet resources; searchable; organized by Dewey Decimal Classification. |
New Zealand Search Engines & Directories
| SearchNZ | Includes advanced search; highlights searched term or portion of; uses fuzzy logic |
Telecom White Pages Telecom Yellow pages TIP: You can now use Boolean operators (+ -) in SearchNZ. See their advanced searching tips page |
| NZ Explorer | NZ Internet database; 300,000+ pages indexed by keyword | |
| Access NZ | Subject directory with search facility. General information | |
| Yahoo Australia & NZ | Yahoo directory and search engine for NZ. General information | |
| Te Puna Web Directory | From National Library; browseable, searchable; NZ & Pacific information | |
| Pipers NZ | (Almost) all the NZ web sites you will ever want! | |
| NZS.com | A comprehensive directory of New Zealand web sites. Quick loading; well laid out, wide range of categories | |
| ANZWERS | Australasia's premier Internet search engine; indexes 54 million+ documents. Deep indexing; can limit search to NZ sites | |
| Tarantula | The Research Spider of the Knowledge Basket. Indexes in depth specific sites relevant to research relating to Maori, Education, Science, Technology and Law. Includes PDF, Word, XML, and other file types. |
