Internet Subject Searching

A Session in the University of Central Florida Library
Internet Workshop Series

Definition

Subject searching sites are those where human beings have indexed and often rated and summarized Internet sites. For purposes of this page, "subject searching" includes subject guides (often called "Webliographies"), i.e., documents that list many types of Internet sources but about a single topic, subject directories, i.e., sites that list one type of Internet source but about multiple, categorized topics, and the newest entry in the field, "hybrid" sites, i.e., those that attempt to rate Web sites. For broad subject searching, any of these classified sites usually provides fewer but more relevant results than those provided by search engines, which rely on computer-generated algorithms searching on keyword hit numbers. For narrow topics, a combination of subject searching and search engines can be the most effective way to search. For information about and a list of search engines, see:
World Wide Web Search Engines: A UCF Library Workshop

http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~s-holler/engines.html
A UCF Library training page listing and describing many search engines, i.e., sites that use software to automatically create searchable databases attempting to "index" the Internet.

Background Information

The following sites provide background information, tutorials, and guides about searching the Internet and the World-Wide Web.
Basic Internet 101: A UCF Library Workshop

Indexes and Lists

Internet Search Tools, A Library of Congress Internet Resource Page: http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/search.html
Provides links to a number of WWW sites organized by subject, meta-search sites, evaluative information about search engines, and individual search engines.
Subject Guides and Search Engines: http://www.sils.umich.edu/~kschneid/guides/guides.html
This page, once known as "Karen's Kitchen," is a link to subject sites (most organized and evaluated by librarians) rather than a subject site itself. The work of a librarian who is a professional Internet consultant and trainer, this listing of some of the best humanly indexed sites available is her response to her own pet peeve: "html'ized hot lists... disorganized and unannotated regurgitations of search efforts..." Though the page itself is quite dated, the links are still current.

Good Starting Points

The Argus Clearinghouse: http://www.clearinghouse.net/
Many "netizens" will know this source by its former name: University of Michigan Clearinghouse for Subject Oriented Resources. Provides "a selective collection of topical guides" compiled by librarians and subject experts. Guides identify, describe, and rank sites and are also searchable by keyword.
LC Marvel Gopher: gopher://marvel.loc.gov:70/11/global
The Global Electronic Library on the Library of Congress (LC) Marvel Gopher is arranged by LC subject headings and for a short time will still be a good way to locate electronic journals, as well as other sources, in specific subject fields. Unfortunately, as of December 1996, the gopher is no longer being maintained; pages that have been developed for the Web can be found at the LC Topical Guides page (http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/subject.html), but they do not duplicate the content of the gopher.
Yahoo!: http://www.yahoo.com/
"Yet Another Hierarchically Organized Oracle," YAHOO is one of the older and better searching sites around. With broad categories determined by human beings, keyword searching can be done across all categories or limited to a specific category. Search results show site title, brief summary, and Yahoo category. An excellent place to start if searching for what sort of information can by found on the Web by discipline.
Search The Internet with The Internet Sleuth: http://www.isleuth.com/
This site lists, describes, and provides search forms for over 1500 searchable databases. Databases may be located by subject category or their titles and descriptions may be searched. Most subject pages start with a "Quick Search" form which allows searching up to 10 databases in that subject area at once.

Other Subject Sites

BUBL WWW Subject Tree - UDC: http://bubl.ac.uk/link/subjects/
Originated as BUlletin Board for Libraries, and while it retains a strong library element, the subject trees (accessible alphabetically or by Universal Decimal Classification number) now provide broader access to research and academic Internet sites.
TradeWave Galaxy: http://www.einet.net/galaxy.html
A classified site employing "professional information specialists" to do the indexing, only pages which are submitted to Galaxy are included. Intended as a project to support electronic commerce, it is not surprising that there seem to be slightly more inclusions in business and commerce than in some other areas. Browseable by topic or searchable by keyword, results are identified by type of information or site (articles, guides, commercial organizations, etc.).
Gopher Jewels: http://galaxy.einet.net/GJ/index.html#TOP
While Web pages have replaced gophers as the glamour sites of the Internet, most gophers are still available, even if not still maintained, and they contain information (especially academic information) not always found on Web pages. This "catalogs many of the best Gopher sites by categories...and takes you to the relevant information..."
The World-Wide Web Virtual Library: Subject Catalogue: http://celtic.stanford.edu/vlib/Overview.html
This classified site does not allow keyword searching, but does allow viewing the categories alphabetically, by "subject tree," or by Library of Congress subject headings.
The Internet Services List: http://www.spectracom.com/islist/
For years simply referred to as "Yanoff's List," this site includes only free services; excluded are company sites, advertisements or promotions, and adult-oriented sites. Including more than just Web sites, this is well organized, but with few annotations.

"Hybrid" Sites: Reviews and Ratings of the Internet

Many of the parent sites of "hybrids" produce subject directories or search engines, but each of these organizations also employs teams of professionals specifically to review and/or rate Internet sites. In most cases, searching the master site does not automatically include the associated reviewed directory.
C/NET Best of the Web: http://www.cnet.com/Content/Reviews/Bestofweb; Highly selective (only five reviews are posted each week), geared to the technological leading edge, and with chatty reviews written by C/NET staffers, this site allows browsing by category or searching by keyword.
The Internet Public Library: Ready Reference Collection
Looksmart
Lycos Popular Sites from A2Z
Lycos Top 5% Sites: http://point.lycos.com
Linked from the Lycos homepage, this site is both searchable and browsable and it gives numerical ratings for content, design, and overall, plus a written review of included sites (around 10,000).
Magellan Internet Guide: http://www.mckinley.com
This has the look and feel of a typical Web search engine site, but there is a major difference: included sites are described, rated, and reviewed. Includes some 50 million sites and provides for either browsing by topics or keyword searching (which can be further limited to sites with reviews or to "green light" sites).
NetGuide Live's Best of the Web: http://www.netguide.com
Reviews here are easy to read, as a table provides up to five stars overall and for content, design, and personality; it also shows "parental control" and "fees/registration" and is accompanied by a detailed review paragraph. Browsing is no problem, but when searching by keyword, the options are to search the words in the reviews (which can provide many false drops) or to use the Lycos search engine.
The Scout Report: http://wwwscout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/index.html
A weekly publication of the Internet Scout Project (part of the InterNIC), this valuable current awareness tool is available by subscription or on the Web. Professional librarians and subject matter experts select, research, and annotate what they judge to be "the best" Internet resources available and more than three years of issues are archived and searchable by keyword, fields, subject category, or Library of Congress Classification.
Yahoo Internet Life Reviews: http://www.zdnet.com/yil/filters/revjump.html
This site is different from most, as it serves to point to articles (usually compilations of site reviews) about topics as well as to individual site reviews. Browsing gives article titles and "quick clicks" to related topics, while keyword searching results in a list ranked by presumed relevance. (This becomes problematic when many titles on a list are all "Yahoo! Internet Life / Site Review" with only dates to differentiate one from another.) A relatively small number of sites (around 2000) are included.

Suzanne E. Holler, s-holler@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu, 7/17/96; Last revised 8/27/97