How people search (from M. Koll "Track 3: Information Retrieval"):

"Finding a needle in a haystack can mean:

• A known needle in a known haystack
• A known needle in an unknown haystack
• A unknown needle in an unknown haystack
• Any needle in a haystack
• The sharpest needle in a known haystack
• Most of the sharpest needles in a haystack
• All of the needles in a haystack
• Affirmation of no needles in the haystack
• Things like needles in a haystack
• Let me know whenever a new needle turns up
• Where are the haystacks
• Needles, haystacks - whatever."

Metadata

"Metadata is data which describes attributes of a resource.  Typically, it supports a number of functions: location, discovery, documentation, evaluation, selection and others." (Virtual Resources Association, 2005).

Alternative Search Engines

Academic

base-search.net

"BASE is one of the world's most voluminous search engines especially for academic open access web resources. BASE is operated by Bielefeld University Library.  As the open access movement grows and prospers, more and more repository servers come into being which use the "Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting" (OAI-PMH) for providing their contents. BASE collects, normalises, and indexes these data."

Science

scrius.com

Scrius.com "is the most comprehensive scientific research tool on the web. It allows researchers to search for not only journal content but also scientists' homepages, courseware, pre-print server material, patents and institutional repository and website information."

sciseek.com

"is a great guide to the best the Internet has to offer in the fields of science and nature."

Science.gov

"Science.gov is a gateway to government science information and research results. Currently in its fifth generation, Science.gov provides a search of over 42 scientific databases and 200 million pages of science information with just one query, and is a gateway to over 2000 scientific websites."

Engineering, Mathematics and Computers

Medical and Health

PubMed

"PubMed comprises more than 20 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites."

Medscape

"Medscape from WebMD is a part of WebMD Health Professional Network that includes theHeart.org and eMedicine.com. Visit our corporate website for investor information, corporate management and press releases related to WebMD."

Environment

envirolink.org

"EnviroLink is dedicated to providing comprehensive, up-to-date environmental information and news."

Government

USA.gov

"As the U.S. government's official web portal, USA.gov makes it easy for the public to get U.S. government information and services on the web. USA.gov also serves as the catalyst for a growing electronic government."

GovTrack.us

"GovTrack.us is a tool by Civic Impulse, LLC to help the public research and track the activities in the U.S. Congress, promoting and innovating government transparency and civic education through novel uses of technology."

Government Printing Office

"GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys) provides public access to Government information submitted by Congress and Federal agencies and preserved as technology changes."

The National Archives

"The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. Of all documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States Federal government, only 1%-3% are so important for legal or historical reasons that they are kept by us forever."

Money

finance.yahoo.com

"Yahoo! Finance is a service from Yahoo! that provides financial information. It is the top financial news and research website in the United States, with more than 23 million visitors in February 2010, according to comScore."

News

topix.net

"Topix is the leading news community on the Web, connecting people to the information and discussions that matter to them in every U.S. town and city. The site links news from 50,000 sources to 360,000 lively user-generated forums."

Comparison Search Engines

twingine.com

Use twingine.com to search Google and Yahoo at the same time.  Compare the results to see what you like best.