To Find Anything On TheInternet (NAPSA)—In the not-so-distant past, searching for information on | fp a given topic meant a trip to the library, spending hours pouring over card catalogs, encyclopedias, reference books and any other sources hidden among the Dewey decimals. Today, finding answers to even the toughest of questions is as easy as connecting to the Internet. A search engine is the best place to start online research because it can uncover thousands of resources with each search. Many people do not know that each search engine hasa different way of finding information on the Internet, so the results you get with one search engine may not be the same as those you get with another. One way to quickly obtain the best results from a variety of search engines at once is to use a metasearch engine. Unlike search engines that deliver only one set of results, metasearch engines draw together results from multiple search engines at one time. One popular metasearch engine is Dogpile (www.dogpile.com). Dogpile searches all of the leading search engines, including Google, Yahoo! and Ask Jeeves at once, and is proven to search up to 50 percent more of the Web than any single engine. For the same reason one would not base an entire report solely on one resource, metasearch engines help minimize biased answers and provide moreorganic results. This is why many librarians recommend metasearch engines when looking for information on the Internet. When looking for information online, keep in mind that various search engines react differently to search terms. A recent study shows that many people perform the same term at multiple search engines just to be sure they are not missing anything. By using a metasearch engine like Dogpile, searchers can save the time it would taketo visit several engines oneafter the other. The information available through metasearch engines is just at your fingertips, and can be valuable for anyone trying to quickly find details for homework and research, to crafts and gift ideas, to family issues and vacation planning.
