Search Engine Reviews: InfoMine and Academic Info
If you or your son or daughter is attending college or graduate school this fall, the Internet can be a wonderful research tool - especially if you use academic search engines like InfoMine and Academic Info.
InfoMine is a large specialized search engine providing access to university and graduate school level material. Academic Info is actually an extensive searchable directory aimed at college level (or above) students.
Why do you need an academic search engine? When you search a general search engine, you are provided with a list of all relevant sites. Depending on the origin and level of information, some will be acceptable as research sources and some will not. In order to select appropriate sites, you would have to investigate each one - a time-consuming activity.
Academic engines, in contrast, can lead you to websites that have been prescreened to assure that the information they contain comes from reputable sources and is suitable for a specified educational level. In addition these engines index many web pages that the search systems of general engines don't cover.
InfoMine - EXTENSIVE SCOPE - POWERFUL SEARCH SYSTEM
InfoMine is truly an impressive resource both in the extent of its subject coverage and in the depth of information it provides about websites. The sites it covers contain material ranging from college-level texts to highly technical research studies.
If you aren't familiar with online searching it's possible to become intimidated by some of the terminology InfoMine uses. However, once you understand these words, you'll find Infomine easy to use.
Search Tips
Databases: InfoMine's home page contains a list of 10 subject categories and types of materials (e.g., Social Sciences and Humanities, Electronic Journals, Government Information) which InfoMine calls databases. (Most other search engines would call them categories.) If you choose one of these databases, you'll be able to search for material in that category only.
In addition, there's a category called Multiple Database Searching. Selecting this category transports you to a search box from which you can search all of InfoMine or any combination of the databases.
Limiting Your Search: Below the search boxes of the individual databases as well as the multiple database search box, there are five check boxes, each with an abbreviation. The abbreviations and their meanings are: KW - keyword, SU - subject, TI - title, AU - author, AN - annotation (description). These abbreviations stand for different parts (fields) of the items (called records by InfoMine) included in InfoMine's index. (Keywords and subject words have been assigned to each web page by the editors.)
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