Comparing Options
"Search engine" is an umbrella or common
term for any program that combs
the Web under your direction. That term really includes 3 types
of search tools:
 Subject indexes
Subject indexes are organised into subjects or topics. You begin by selecting from a master list.
Example: the LEARN Network's Subject Site at http://www2.tafe.sa.edu.au/lsrsc/learn/USS/main.htm > Useful Subject Sites.
This is an index (or database) of Websites organised according to subjects taught across TAFE SA and topics of interest to students.
You might begin by selecting Human Resource Management (subject) or Student Services: Careers (topic).
Use subject indexes when you want a concise list of sites chosen for you by experts.
Search
engines
Search engines respond to keywords you put into their search boxes. Example: google.com at www.google.com.au Use their advanced search pages to make your request as specific as possible. The search engine then combs all the Webpages it has indexed or organised into a database. Use search engines when you want a list of sites from which you use your own judgement to choose the most valuable.
Metasearch
engines
These are different again! Unlike "subject indexes"
and "search engines", these engines do not have their own database of Webpages.
Instead, they relay your keywords to a group of directories and engines. That group then
conducts your search simultaneously. Example: Dogpile at http://www.dogpile.com/
Use a metasearch engine when you want a broad search in one "hit". Be aware that no metacrawler
can search every engine and directory on the Web.
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