Metasearching
There are two basic types of metasearch tools, ones that search the freely available Internet, and ones that search subscription library databases. Examples of metasearch engines that search the open Internet are Vivisimo, Dogpile, and Monster Crawler. The UF Libraries’ Research Gateway and Google Scholar are searching tools that enable you to search more than one database at a time.
If you are having trouble finding information on your topic, it can be useful to use the Research Gateway to identify databases with information. However, these are complex searching tools that have been developed for expert searching. Metasearch engines often lack the searching refinements that have been covered in this section of Research 101. Once you have identified a database that covers your research question or thesis, try connecting directly to the database to continue looking for information.
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Metasearch engine
noun
A meta-search engine is a search engine that sends user requests to several other search engines and/or databases and returns the results from each one. Meta search enables users to enter search criteria once and access several search engines simultaneously.
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. May 14, 2007. 09:31. Wikipedia Foundation Inc, May 22, 2007. http://www.wikipedia.org
