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bare bones lesson 13: Dogpile

 

 

DOGPILE :   A Closer Look

DESCRIPTION:

Dogpile, one of the most popular metasearch engines on the Web, was launched in 1996.  It is currently operated by InfoSpace, which recently streamlined its interface, giving it a new look and features. Using innovative metasearch technology, Dogpile searches the Web via the Internet's top search engines (see list below), claiming to fetch, with one single click, the best results from its combined pool of search engine sources. (Note:  Although it now labels "sponsored links" these are interspersed throughout the results listings and are not always easy to spot.  See the "sponsored by" note on the URL line.)  Dogpile also displays result links on the right-hand side of the results page for clustering and refining searches even further.  Thus, the searcher can drill down into narrower subtopics without having to use advanced search tools. For the intrepid researcher, however, Dogpile also offers an Advanced search page. 

SEARCHES IN:

  • Google    (search engine)
  • Yahoo! Search    (directory / search engine)
  • Ask.com    (search engine)
  • MSN Search    (search engine)
  • MIVA     (e-commerce directory)
  • LookSmart     (directory)
DEFAULTS TO:
AND

SEARCH OPTIONS:

Basic Search Page

  • Supports only those features already supported by the engines used in the search
  • Displays separate search links for "Images," "Audio," "Video," "News," "White Pages," and "Yellow Pages"

Advanced Search Page

  • Supports Boolean-type searches for "all of these words," "the exact phrase," any of these words," or "none of these words" 
  • Supports searching by language
  • Supports searching by date, to find sites updated after a certain date, before a certain date, and between two dates
  • Supports searching by domain, to include or exclude results from different domains, e.g., "com" or "edu"
  • Provides adult filter, to include or exclude explicit content from searches

OTHER SEARCH OPTIONS AND FEATURES:

  • Labels individual sponsored results, generally listing them first -- so, be sure to SCROLL DOWN!
  • Displays a search refining box on right-hand side of results page ("Are you looking for?") to help cluster and refine searches even further. Another box shows recently completed searches.

ASSIGNMENT:

To see how the clustering effect works, go to the Basic search page, and search for:

   voting machines

Note the "Are you looking for?" box that appears on the right-hand side of the results page to see how you can cluster your results to better suit your search needs.

Clusty                                                     GigaBlast

[Table of Contents] [Search Engines] [Metasearchers] [Subject Directories] [Gateways & Databases] [Evaluating Web Pages] [Search Strategies] [Search Tips] [Boolean Operators] [Field Searching] [Troubleshooting] [Ask] [Clusty] [Dogpile] [GigaBlast] [Google] [MSN Search] [Yahoo!] [Graveyard] [Final Exam] [Beyond Bones] [User Agreement]

Last updated by E. Chamberlain, Thursday September 07, 2006