Introduction
Directories differ to search engines in that they are compiled by humans rather than computers. The web pages in a directory are organized into categories. This way you can search through the categories to locate your information. Most directories also have a searching facility that will search through its list of directory pages for your chosen topic.
However, it is important to remember that this search facility will only search the title and introductory text, rather than the whole text.
Searching through directories does have its limits, and unless your search topic is very broad it might be best not to choose this option. It is important to remember, though, that because these pages have been filtered by human eyes, the content of the web page results will be more reliable.
Examples of directories
http://dir.yahoo.com
(One of the most popular general directories that contains a plethora of popular everyday categories e.g. Entertainment, Government, Health, News & Media, Science, Society & Culture).
Reproduced with permission of Yahoo! Inc. ©2005 by Yahoo!Inc. Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logo are trademarks of Yahoo! Inc.
www.academicinfo.net
(An academic directory that categorises online educational information into area’s such as an educational subject directory, a list of online degree programs, and resources for examination preparation).
www.google.com/dirhp
(Similar to Yahoo! in that is also a very popular general directory, that is categorised under headings such as Arts, News, Recreation, Shopping, and Sports)
www.joeant.com
(Categorised in the same manner as the Yahoo! and Google directories)
www.lycos.co.uk/dir/
(A British directory site that is similarly organised to the other general directories mentioned above)
www.dmoz.org
(This directory is one of the largest and most comprehensive directories available online. It is constructed and maintained by a global community of volunteer editors. The categories are similar to the other general directories)
www.about.com
(This is another general directory that is again categorised under everyday topics)
