Internet ResourcesScores
Competitions, Festivals, Scholarships
Lyrics and Song Search Dates of Composers
Archives and indexes
Using Search Engines Searchers have a variety of options for conducting research on the Web. The abundance of information makes it necessary for you to evaluate which type of search engine meets your needs. Search tools tend to range in size from large, general information sites to smaller sites dealing in specialized subject information. The resources below will help you to use the Internet to your advantage. For guideline to citing Internet resources in your work, see the Reference Services sections of the Conservatory's library web site.
Popular Search Engines These search engines offer primarily keyword searching. Some have browsable subject directories which are subsets of the primary databases. These engines are particularly good for searches involving unique key words or narrow concepts. For instance, if you want general information about Paris in the 1920s, you would be better off with a subject directory like Yahoo. However, if you want information about Gertrude Stein or the Lost Generation you may have better luck using these larger, robot engines. Meta Search Engines These useful programs send your search words simulateously to several popular search engines and report back in a single list. For example, Metacrawler searches AltaVista, Exite, Infoseek, Lycos, Webcrawler and Yahoo! Some multi-search engines allow a few refinements, to take advantage of the advanced search options you will need to go to the individual engines. Subject Directories Use a subject directory if your key words are common or your request is of a general nature. For example, if you want information on buying car insurance, a subject directory would be useful. Keywords like “car“ and “insurance“ would provide an overwhelming number of hits in the larger engines. Directories actually categorize the offerings and do not attempt to cover everything on the web. | |||