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Information about similar subjects tends to gather in the same areas on the WWW. This
goes back to the earliest traditions of Web page design, where people would often include
a list of organised Web 'bookmarks' - links to other resources of similar information.
On the Web it is possible to make use of 'social navigation'; either directly,
by following the recommendations of people with similar interests (i.e. human organised
subject lists) or indirectly, by following in the footsteps of people who have
sought similar information.
When searching for a particular topic it is much more efficient to search for knowledge
hubs or starting points than finding single pages on the Web. About.com
and Yahoo
are two of the Web's best subject
catalogues, or directories. In addition, the Google
Web Directory uses the collected input from over 30,000 Open
Directory Project editors to provide the Web's largest
human-compiled directory.
Note: Subject catalogues differ from search engines.
- They are usually organised in a parent-to-child (broad-to-narrow) subject hierarchy e.g.
Recreation-Skiing-Skiing in Austria.
- They are selective i.e. a human has looked at them and evaluated sites listed in each
category and subcategory.
A good knowledge hub will often itself offer searchability. Search engines which
can be used to find a searchable knowledge hub include:
| InvisibleWeb |
www.invisibleweb.com |
The largest collection of searchable databases under one roof, the
InvisibleWeb lists 10,000 searchable databases, organised by category,
which you can search from the site. |
| Internets |
www.internets.com |
A collection of search engines and databases in every useful category. The site
contains reviews from press and universities about the 1000's of reference search engines.
|
| Mednets |
www.internets.com/mednets |
Has one of the largest collection of direct links to on-line medical search engines
and databases. On this site there are free and extensive medical archives, libraries,
research databases, catalogs, and statistical data available at educational, governmental
and corporate sites. |
| Search.com |
www.search.com |
Specialized collection of tools to help you find information fast. |
| The Big Hub |
www.thebighub.com |
Allows the searching over 1,500 databases by category, or query multiple search
engines and directories. |
In addition to the above sources a good place to look are companies such
as Sigma-Aldrich
(https://www.sigmaaldrich.com) which has excellent catalogue of all the products that they
supply as well as all the MSDS safety information. Also the WWW Virtual Library
(www.vlib.org/overview.html) is an excellent starting point particularly science related
(e.g. agriculture, biosciences and chemistry) and the Argus Clearing House
(www.clearinghouse.net).
Where it is in the interest of a supplier to attract customers to their
Web site, free information is often used as bait, especially if the supplier is a large
enough company. It can be worth hunting for such company Web sites in the hope of
finding these nuggets...
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