BEV BUTULA: In search of the best search

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I am often asked for suggestions of alternative search engines when Google is not immediately producing the best results. My response, obviously, varies depending on the type of information being sought, but here are a couple of my favorites.

Science.gov – This site has been around for more than 10 years. As explained on the website, your query will look at “over 60 databases and over 2,200 selected websites from 15 federal agencies, offering 200 million pages of authoritative U.S. government science information including research and development results.” Using the advanced search option allows the researcher to specify which sources are being searched.

FreeLunch.com – FreeLunch.com is a website provided by Moody’s Analytics. The focus is financial and economic data. The information is gathered from a variety of sites and offered as an easy-to-navigate interface. The researcher can conduct a keyword search or browse various topics such as labor markets, prices, consumer markets, and gross domestic product. Registration is required, but free.

BankRate.com – This website aggregates a variety of financial rate information to create a one-stop shop. Per its website, BankRate.com “provides free rate information to consumers on more than 300 financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and used automobile loans, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees.”

MagPortal – Find full text magazine articles on a variety of subjects such as business, finance, and education. A keyword search will generate a list of results that includes the title of the article, a brief summary, the source, and date. MagPortal also includes a link to find similar type articles.

MedNar – This is a great addition when conducting medical type research. Searching commercial databases, government resources, patents, and NIH sites, MedNar retrieves quality results. The researcher can elect to search only items available in “full text.” There are numerous other filter options available including narrowing your results by topic, publication, date, and format.