Description:
Maze, Moxley, and Smith explain the striking differences among online search engines and why they matter. The authors start by explaining the features common to all the major search engines, including the structure of the World Wide Web and the software robots that explore and index sites. By going into this basic material and the nature of search-site databases, the authors lay a solid groundwork for the reader to clearly understand the advantages and disadvantages of different search engine designs. While their short discussion of the various interfaces may seem to cover the obvious, the authors dispel some common misconceptions about what really happens when words or phrases are entered into the search field. After covering the basics, the authors do a detailed comparison of seven leading search engines--WebCrawler, Lycos, Infoseek, Open Text, AltaVista, Excite, and HotBot. They include shorter explorations of Yahoo!, Magellan, the Argus Clearinghouse, and the WWW Virtual Library. The comparisons make it easier to choose the best search engine to use for various research projects. This book is a gold mine of knowledge for those new to online research, but even highly experienced researchers are likely to find new and useful information. --Elizabeth Lewis
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