Basic Search Engines
Basic search engines are just that--they search for, find, organize, and present information to you. Each one has their own methods for doing so and thus results can vary. Examples include HotBot, AltaVista, Excite, and Google.

Metasearch Engines
Metasearch engines allow you to submit a search request to multiple engines simultaneously. They work by combining several simple search engines and then taking the highest scoring results from each engine and sorting them by various different methods. Examples include Dogpile, Metacrawler, Search.com, and Supercrawler.

Directories
Directories, also known as portals, are primarily organized lists of things rather than actual searching mechanisms. You can find information in directories by making use of the common tree structure, which organizes entries into categories, basically moving from general topics to more specific branches or subtopics. Examples include Yahoo!, LookSmart, and Lycos.

Search Engine Watch
The best resource for information and news about search engines. Take a look at "Reviews, Ratings, and Tests" to see how the top engines rank in popularity, accuracy, and coverage.

Rutgers Libraries:

Rutgers University Libraries Home page
The main page for all Rutgers Libraries, services, and online resources.

Rutgers Libraries Online Indexes
Numerous periodical indexes are available online. In addition to complete citations, these indexes also provide the full text for many periodicals.

Proquest Research Library
The most popular periodical index, Proquest offers full-text access to many well-known journals and newspapers.

Rutgers Libraries Research Guides
Need info on a particular subject, but don't where to start? The Research Guides can help you out.

Other Reference:

The Research Libraries Information Network
A bibliographic resource that combines the holdings of several major research libraries(including Rutgers) into one comprehensive online catalog. Good for getting an idea about how much has been written about a certain topic. If you see a resource that Rutgers does not already own, you can request an Interlibrary Loan.

Infomine
Scholarly resource collection from the U of California.

Library of Congress
The LOC catalog includes over 12 million items. The site also contains a wealth of image-based research materials in its digital collections.

Digital Libraries: UC Berkeley's SunSITE & The Internet Public Library
These two are pioneers in the revolutionary concept of libraries that exist only on the Web.

Wikipedia
Good source for quick primers on most topics — you could also submit an article and link back to your site.

Infoplease
Solid general encyclopedia — see what it's got and then build your own content that digs deeper!

Rutgers Reference Gateway
This is the Rutgers online reference shelf. Great for finding online encyclopedias, dictionaries, maps, you name it.

Refdesk
Consistently rated the best reference site on the Web, this is a comprehensive source for all things factual. Most of the useful tools are located on the center column.

The Internet Public Library Reference Center
The "bookshelf" graphic on the home page makes this a quick-and-easy tool for finding information in subject areas, such as law, arts, business, social science and education.

Citation:

Columbia Guide to Online Style
A quick reference guide to citing from on-line sources that draws from already accepted forms such as the MLA.

Evaluating Sources:

"Evaluating Quality on the Net"
A lengthy online article about evaluation by Hope N. Tillman, director of the libraries at Babson College.

"Ten C's for Evaluating Internet Sources"
A checklist of issues to consider, from the library Web site for the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire.

"Evaluating Web Resources"
A Web page that evolved into a book on web evaluation. The checklists for evaluating specific types of Web pages are especially useful.

SCILS Tech SOS: E-journal Evaluation
Some issues to consider before you cite an article from an e-journal. Written by the School of Communication, Information, and Library Science here at Rutgers.

Writing:

Writing Effectively Online
Best intro to differences between print and online writing, plus essential techniques such as chunking and making text scannable.

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wmagrino@rci.rutgers.edu