General Search Engines

Allow complex searches and Boolean operators such as AND, OR and ADJ
  • Google: Returns only results with all of your search words -- automatically ANDs terms together; does not support the OR operator. Google HELP.
  • Google Scholar: Searches articles, patents and legal opinions; does not include books. Information subscribed to by the library can be accessed by current faculty, staff and students.
  • Google Books: allows you to search for books, including theses and dissertations, and connects to Worldcat.org so you can find the book in a library.
  • Bing : Microsoft's search engine.
  • AltaVista : Use quotation marks around phrases. The Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT and NEAR can be used in an Advanced Search. Can also limit by domain (.edu, .gov, for example.)AltaVista HELP
  • AlltheWeb: Uses + for "and" and - for "not." AlltheWeb Help
  • Ask.com: enter phrases, questions or single words. Ask.com Help
  • USA.gov: government information. Supports wildcards * and ?. USA.gov Help
  • Yahoo : Allows the use of the + and - but not Boolean searching. Yahoo HELP
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Specialized Search Engines

Searches can be limited to specific file types, such as images, subject areas, such as science, or to certain places on the Internet, such as FAQs or Internet Discussion Groups.

Setting Preferences

Both the Google Scholar and Scirus search engines can be set so that you can access the University Libraries' subscribed materials remotely.

Google Scholar

  • Go to http://libproxy2.usouthal.edu/login?url=http://scholar.google.com/ (it's best that you login through the University Libraries' proxy server to set your preferences and use Google Scholar -- that way you can access our resources without having to login again.)
  • Choose Scholar Preferences next to the Search box
  • In the Library Links box, type University of South Alabama
  • You should get three choices: University of South Alabama (USA eText); Open WorldCat (Library Search); and University of South Alabama (Full Text@IngentaConnect)
  • Check the boxes in front of each one
  • Click Save Preferences

Scirus

  • Go to http://www.scirus.com/
  • Choose Preferences from above the search box
  • Next to Library Partner Links, choose University of South Alabama from the drop-down menu and click the Enable radio button
  • Choose Save Preferencesto top of page 
NOTE: Search engines update their interfaces frequently, and they vary widely in the language they accept as search syntax. We strongly recommend that you read the Help screens for each search engine or directory.