Project #15: Search Engine Evaluation

In this project, I will be evaluating 8 different search engines, not including Google. This will give me, as well as my readers, a better understanding of how to find relevant information, where to find this information, and what qualities within these search engines are useful for research.

1. Bing

Bing is a search engine that helps to better define or better expand what you are searching for. It gives suggestions and different topics that are related to what you are looking for. For example, I typed into the search bar "technology in the classroom" and similar to Google, it gives you the option to define your search through images, web, videos, maps, news, and more. What I really like about Bing is that this search engine helps you to narrow down or broaden your search possibilities. I clicked on each tab (images, web, videos, maps, news, and more) after I typed in "technology in the classroom" and Bing gave me suggestions like "integrating technology in the classroom", "using technology in the classroom", and "New Tech 2014". Bing also has a "Related Topics" list on the right side of the screen that seems very useful for finding many sources for research through different mediums. This search engine is very easy to navigate and provides plenty of visual stimulation, making it user friendly. I also really enjoyed using Bing because it provides current and up-to-date news on its' home page, as well as an awesome home page picture that changes. Overall, Bing would be great for researching a topic that requires you to have different viewpoints, different mediums, and would be able to give a "down the rabbit hole" possibility for whatever topic you may choose. I found this search engine very useful for finding images, videos, and news. I would recommend this search engine be used for a science project or a current issues project. 

This is the home page for Bing. The transparent box gives facts about the photo in the background.
At the bottom of the screen, you will see current news stories.

This is the results page for "technology in the classroom" under the tab "videos".

2. WolframAlpha

This search engine is completely new to me for I have never used it before. At first, I had difficulty navigating WolframAlpha because, unlike Google or Bing, this search engine is used to find and help explain calculations, theories, and definitions. What I really liked about this search engine is how it gives you a simple and organized explanation for the material you are looking for. WolframAlpha has a feature that allows you to view examples of the topic you are searching. I typed in several questions like, "how do you find the area of a circle?","what is an allegory?', "how to ride a bike?" and these were among the most successful for which I found answers for. When I clicked on "examples", it showed me how the topic I was searching for related to measurements, charts, science, dates & time, people in history, step-by-step solutions, and countless others. I found this search engine extremely useful for finding calculated answers and definitions that pertain to complex ideas and theories. Great for math homework!

This is the "Examples" page where you can find more detailed information related to your topic.

These were some of my results for when I searched for the circumference of a circle. 

3. DuckDuckGo 

The first thing I noticed about this search engine was the tutorial that was offered as you first enter the site. It was nice to have a preview of how to navigate this site. This search engine is really for personal use and lets you customize your searching experience based on your location, style, and wants. This search engine offers many features such as a stopwatch for working out, music selections, a dictionary, a weather update feature and many more features that can be customized to your specific likes and dislikes. For this search engine, I searched for "award winning pie recipes".  

My results for "award winning pie recipes".

4. Ask

Ask.com is a website and search engine that I have used before. This search engine is used to ask questions. There is even a forum for popular questions and answers that are commonly asked on this website. You can type in a word and "ask" will provide popular questions that have been associated with that word. This website would be useful for everyday questions, as well as difficult questions in literature, critical thinking questions, and problem solving questions. This website is very useful for anyone at any level, not just students or professors.  

This is the homepage of Ask.com. Here you can see the questions of the day, which gives viewers an idea of what kind of information Ask,com can provide.

This is the Q&A forum for Ask.com.

5. Mahalo 

This search engine offers a combination of Google and Ask features. This website features editors that sift through all the incoming information to give its users a higher quality of relevance to the information they are trying to find. Mahalo features intimate and personal answers to questions about health, fitness, emotions, human relationships, music, food, and much more. This would be the perfect search engine for any college student who needs to compile personal information and tips for a healthy life style, emotionally and physically. This is a great tool that can be widely used for personal blogs, as well as advice columns. 

Mahalo offers a wide variety of tips and advice for the everyday user.

6. Yippy 

This search engine was the most unique to me. Yippy has been around since about 2000, originally known as Clutsy. Yippy uses "clouds" to help better define your search into more specific areas. Yippy also combines other search engine's results to give you complied answers to find what you are looking for. These "clouds" contain similar results together so that you can sift through the aspects of your topic, choosing what information you want to view and avoiding the information you find unnecessary. This would be useful if you are trying to find information on a specific author about his or her accomplishments and famous writings, rather than personal or biographical information.  

To the left, you can see how Yippy has divided the results for the Empire State Building into "clouds".

7. Webopedia 

I feel as if I will definitely be using this website for this class, as well as my future courses. This search engine is designed to help people navigate the ins and out' of the tech-savvy world. Webopedia allows it's users to find information about their technology by defining commonly used vocabulary and giving tips on how to successfully  use software, programs, graphics, networks. operating systems and much more. I feel like this website is a very important tool for navigating technology in the world today, and I am very thankful to have found such a commodity as a resource. I will definitely be using this for all my technological needs in this class, and even when I am a teacher with my own students.  

8. The Internet Archive 

I chose this search engine last because it is basically the big daddy of all search engines! It doesn't necessarily work in the conventional way like Google or Bing, but the Internet Archive has the ability to allow us to view web pages from as early as 1996! I had no idea that this information was available to us! I wish I had done more research about search engines before this class because I could have been so much more successful in my research as a student in my earlier years. The Internet Archive is more than a valuable place for free information. This archive allows us to see how technology has changed overtime and gives us access to information and digital artifacts that have been long gone. This search engine gives you the ability to browse the history of the internet. I did a search for google.com and my results informed that google.com has been saved 48,399 times between today and November 11th, 1998. The archive can even show us how politicians used the internet to campaign back in the late nineties. Even better than that, the archive allows us to reach into the past and view old movies, cartoons, speeches, and so much more that cannot be made available to us through any other search engine!  This is definitely a fantastic tool that I will use in my future classroom.  

The "wayback machine" on the archive's website that allows us to view internet campaigning from 1996.