Web Directory Search
Web directories are highly specialized lists of electronic resources compiled by a group of professional editors. Before each link is included, the resource is reviewed and judged by an expert for its value and relevance to the topic or field to which it belongs.
The contents of a Web directory will include Web sites, software programs, email listservs, newsgroups and discussion forums as well as electronic audio and visual files. By selecting a general category from a list of topics and clicking on the available subcategories, a search can be narrowed to sources specifically relevant to your research project.
Web directories containing content that has been parsed, or analyzed, such as those in the list below, are great places to begin searching the Web. The browse and search methods for each will be similar.
- About.com
- AltaVista Directory
- Google Directory
- Hoppa
- Infomine
- Internet Public Library
- Librarian's Index to the Internet
- Look Smart
- Open Directory Project
- Web World
- Yahoo! Directory
The following demonstration illustrates a Web directory search. In this case, the researcher uses the Internet Public Library. As you follow this demonstration, feel free to click on Internet Public Library and become the researcher yourself.
View a demonstration of a web directory search using Internet Public Library