Internet 101/102: Untangling the Web

welcome | bibliography | glossary

I. How does it work?

II. What's really out there?

III. How can I search?

IV. Why should I evaluate?

V. How do I cite sources?

a. web directories | b. search engines | c. specialty tools | d. library databases

How can I search? -- specialty tools

Listed below are special searching tools you can use to find things like listservs, newsgroups, ftp sites, and web rings, and tools that have "risen above the crowd" to serve specific subject areas/disciplines.

TiLE.NET
Free Website: http://www.tile.net
Huge search engine for listservs, newsgroups, ftp, etc.Tells you how to subscribe to a listserv or group. Join a group for your subject interest and share ideas and thoughts by email, maybe make a friend or two! Discover the world of FTP and download computer files of all kinds.

Topica
Free Website: http://www.topica.com
Topica helps you find email newsletters and discussion forums on just about any topic.

Yahoo! Groups
Free Website: http://groups.yahoo.com
A highly organized and extremely user-friendly way to create online newsgroups. Search for a Yahoo! Group that meets your interests or create you own! Services include email messaging, file saving, link saving, member list, polls and chat.

Yahoo! WebRing
Free Website: http://www.webring.com
Member web sites have banded together to form their sites into linked circles on particular topics of interest. Browse their directory of Ring topics, join an existing Ring, or start your own!

Tools for specific subject areas/disciplines

Reference
refdesk.com @ http://www.refdesk.com
LibrarySpot @ http://libraryspot.com

Biological Sciences, Health, Engineering, Physical & Chemical, Earth & Space
SciCentral @ http://www.scicentral.com
SciSeek @ http://www.sciseek.com
Scirus @ http://www.scirus.com

English and Literature
English Online Resources
Internet Public Library : Online Texts Collection @ http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/hum60.60.00/

Fine Arts/Humanities
Humbul Humanities Hub @ http://www.humbul.ac.uk/
Voice of the Shuttle @ http://vos.ucsb.edu/
Music Search @ http://musicsearch.com

Social Sciences
SOSIG: Social Science Information Gateway @ http://sosig.ac.uk/
Historical Text Archive @ http://historicaltextarchive.com/

Government/Law
USA.gov @ http://www.usa.gov/ (formerly FirstGov)
Google: Uncle Sam search @ http://www.google.com/unclesam
FindLaw @ http://www.findlaw.com

And this is just a sampling! You can find more specialty tools listed @ SearchEngineWatch.com & SearchEngineGuide.com