BARE BONES 101:

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LESSON 14:    IXQUICK Metasearch: A Closer Look

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DESCRIPTION

Ixquick is one of the newest metasearchers, having been launched in early 2000. In its very short existence, Ixquick has also become one of the most popular metasearchers. This is because of some unique and interesting features. Ixquick searches 14 of the most familiar search engines and directories, returning "top 10" results from each engine searched. Every time the same site appears in one of the 12 search engines' "top 10" returns, it earns a star. (Sites can earn up to a maximum of six stars.) Those with the most stars are the most likely to be relevant to one's search. The format of the Ixquick interface is simple and clear; the search page appearance is clean and uncluttered. Ixquick has received praise for its efficient handling of Boolean operators and its ability to eliminate duplicates from the combined results list.

SEARCHES IN:

• Ah-Ha; pay-per-click searcher
• All the Web (Fast)
• AOL
• Ask Jeeves/Direct Hit
• FindWhat; pay-per-click searcher
• Go
• Hotbot
• LookSmart
• MSN
• Netscape
• Overature; pay-per-click searcher

SEARCH OPTIONS AND SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Results lead off with a "Sponsored result"
• Results culled from combination of search engines and subject directories
• Search requests translated into each participating engine's syntax
• (+) and (-) signs
• Double quotes (" ") for phrases
• Boolean-type searching with AND, OR, NOT, AND NOT, ANDNOT, NEAR
• Parentheses searching with AND, OR, NOT
• Field searching with title: link: host: url: text: domain: image: related: (i.e., similar content)
• Case sensitive
• Duplicate pages eliminated
• Truncation and wildcards with (*)
• Natural language searches
• Customized search options
• Foreign language searches
• News, MP3 files, and Picture searches

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ASSIGNMENT:

Go to IXQUICK Metasearch, and search for:
  "terrorist attack"

Google                                                      Yahoo!

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[Table of Contents] [Search Engines] [Metasearchers] [Subject Directories] [Gateways & Databases]
[Evaluating Web Pages] [Search Strategies] [Search Tips] [Boolean Operators] [Field Searching] [Troubleshooting]
[All the Web (Fast)]
[Alta Vista] [Google] [Yahoo!] [Final Exam] [Beyond Bones] [User Agreement]

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Links and text checked regularly. Latest update on 11 July 2002. This tutorial was first created in January 2000 by Ellen Chamberlain, library webweaver. Copyright © the Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina. URL: http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/lesson14.html