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Use the table below to learn about the features of a few search engines. Some search engine terminology may be new to you so a short glossary is included at the end of the page. Within the table itself some of the features are linked. Click on these links to get a definition of the items that you do not understand.

The table below lists just a handful of the available search engines. Take a look at Search Engine Watch to get a more complete list of the variety of search engines, find more searching tips, and find more information about search engines.

As you use these search engines keep in mind that not all information is available on the web. Books and magazines may sometimes prove to be the better tools not only because they may provide better information but they do so more efficiently. Unlike the library, the Internet is not organized in any particular manner and every search engine works differently. As a result your search results are often unpredictable. Remember that search engines like other web sites change on a regular basis. Do not be surprised if your favorite search engine takes on a different look one day.

Search Engine	General Features	Boolean	Other Search Options
All the Web www.alltheweb.com	Simple, straight-forward screen with very little advertising. Search for web pages, videos, MP3 files, and FTP files	Recognizes the following: +, -, " ", ( ) Note: Engine does not recognize AND, OR, NOT operators	Simple search: check off "Exact phrase" button to search for exact phrase (works like ""). Limit search by langauge. Advanced Search: limit search by domain. Use drop down for Boolean options such as "all of the words," "any of the words," or "the exact phrase."
Search Engine	General Features	Boolean	Other Search Options
BUBL LINK bubl.ac.uk/link/	Primarily useful as a directory. Uses the Dewey Decimal System (like public libraries) to organize web sites.		Advanced Search: text boxes and radio button options allow you to limit your search.
Search Engine	General Features	Boolean	Other Search Options
Google www.google.com	Simple, straight-forward screen with very little advertising. Google Web Directory is available at http://directory.google.com/.	Google only returns pages that include all of your search terms so the Boolean operator AND is not needed Recognizes the following: OR, -, +, " "	Basic Search: by clicking on the "I'm Feeling Lucky Button" you go directly to the first web page Google returned for your search. Advanced Search: limit search by domain and language. Does not support stemming or wildcards. The exact words that you enter into the search box will be searched. The engine is not case sensitive.
Search Engine	General Features	Boolean	Other Search Options
Hotbot www.hotbot.com	Doubles as a search engine and as a directory. Many of the search features can be accessed from the left hand side of the screen. Search for images, videos, and MP3 files.	Recognizes the following: AND, OR, NOT, " " Wildcards: * (matches more than one character), ? (matches only one character) Use the drop down menus to limit your search and act as Boolean operators.	Basic Search: limit search by date and language Advanvced Search: limit your search by domain. Use drop down menus to further limit your search.
Search Engine	General Features	Boolean	Other Search Options
Northern Light www.northernlight.com	Includes a number of search options. "Special Editions" link produces a list of categories related to important issues of the day. Other features include "Search News" and "Business Search."	Recognizes the following: AND, OR, NOT, +, -, ( ) Wildcards: * (matches more than one character), % (matches only one character) Note: term must have at least four letters before a wildcard can be used. Note: most words are pluralized automatically so a search for cat will also look for cats.	Power Search: limit your search by particular subject areas.
Search Engine	General Features	Boolean	Other Search Options
open directory project www.dmoz.org	Primarily useful as a directory even though a search feature is offered. The directory is compiled by volunteers.	Recognizes the following: AND, OR, ANDNOT, " ", +, - Note: search statement cannot begin with the - command. Wildcards:* (can only be used at the end of a term)	Advanced Search: search for terms within specific subject categories.
Search Engine	General Features	Boolean	Other Search Options
Profusion www.profusion.com	Metasearch engine Doubles as a search engine and as a directory. Simple straight forward screen with very little advertising.	Recognizes the following: AND, OR, NOT, " " Note: Boolean operators must be entered in capital letters	Advanced Search: select which search engines to search.
Search Engine	General Features	Boolean	Other Search Options
Webcrawler www.webcrawler.com	Doubles as a search engine and as a directory. Simple straight forward screen with very little advertising.	Recognizes the following: AND, OR, AND NOT, +, - Note: Boolean commands must be entered in capital letters	"Zoom In" feature helps narrow down searches by suggesting alternate/additional search terms.
Search Engine	General Features	Boolean	Other Search Options
Yahoo www.yahoo.com	Doubles as a search engine and as a directory.	Recongnizes the following: AND, OR, +, -, " " Wildcards: * (can be attached to the end of the word only; must have at least three letters before using a wildcard)	Advanced Search: use the radio buttons to select Boolean operators.

Search Engine Terminology

Boolean operators:
AND, OR, NOT (in some cases NOT may be replaced with ANDNOT or AND NOT); The use of these operators tells the search engine which terms you want to include or exclude from your search results. By default most search engines will perform an AND search regardless of whether or not you use the AND operator. Please note that search engines are case insensitive unless otherwise noted in the chart above so you do not have to enter the Boolean terms in capital letters. Top

AND: Produces search results with all of your keywords.
Example: government AND extraterrestrials
A search using these terms should result in a list of sites that includes both of these terms. Using the AND operator will narrow down your search because it will tell the search engine to only return web sites that have all of the terms connected by AND.

OR: Produces search results with either of your keywords.
Example: extraterrestrials OR aliens
A search using these terms should result in a list of sites that includes either of these terms. Using the OR operator will expand your search because it will tell the search engine to return web sites that that have either term. The OR operator is useful when you are trying to find instances of similar words. A person doing research on aliens may very well be interested in extraterrestrials as well.

NOT (ANDNOT or AND NOT): Produces search results that exclude the keyword after the operator.
Example: aliens NOT illegal immigrants
A search using these terms should result in a list of sites that does not include the second word or phrase. The NOT is useful when you are trying to eliminate instances of similar words. A person doing research on aliens from another planet may not care about illegal immigrants.

Some search engines recognize a short hand method of expressing Boolean operators. Instead of using the AND operator you can include + in front of the words that you want the search engine to include in your results. For example, government AND extraterrestrials is the same as +government +extraterrestrials. Instead of using the OR operator you can place parenthesis around the words. For example, extraterrestrials OR aliens is the same as (extraterrestrials aliens). Instead of using the NOT operator you can place a - in front of the word you want to exclude. For example, aliens NOT immigrants is the same as aliens -immigrants.

directory:organize web sites by subject; different directories use different organizational schemes; the main difference between directories and search engines is that you can browse through directories. Examples of directories include Yahoo, Webcrawler, and BUBL LINK. Top

domain: identifies the type of organizations responsible for a web site. For example,
.com--commercial organization
.edu--educational institution
.gov--government
.org--typically used for non-profit organizations
Top

metasearch engine: an engine that searches multiple search engines at the same time (e.g. Profusion). Top

phrase searching: a search for web sites that contain the exact sentence or group of words entered into the search engine. You can perform a phrase search in most search engines by surrounding your phrase with quotation marks (" ").
Example: "telecommunications act of 1996"
By using this phrase you are asking the search engine to return web pages that have this exact phrase somewhere in the text of the pages. If you were to take the quotation marks out you might get web pages that have all of the words but those words might not be related to each other on the page. Top

search statement: a collection of words and phrases (including Boolean operators) entered into a search engine. Top

stemming: some search engines will search for variations of a word root. For example, if you use the word swim in your query the search engine may also look for swimming and swimmer without you having to tell it to do so. Top

stop words: words such as a, the, and to add little substance to the meaning of a search statement. Most search engines will ignore these words. Top

wild cards: placeholders in words that allow you to search for word variants. Some wildcards take the place of one letter others can take the place of multiple letters. Different search engines use different symbols as wildcards.
Example: comput*
In this case the wildcard is represented by the * symbol. The search engine results will include compute, computer, computing, and computers. To see how different search engines use wildcards take a look at the chart above. Top

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Last updated:December 26, 2001.