Use specialized engines

There are many ways to search for information. Typically, you begin with a gen­eralized search of the entire Web, which often leads to a specific site that you search in depth. The flight reservation example at the beginning of the chapter fell into this pattern. We began by searching for information about "airline reserva­tions," which led to a specific site that contained a database with information about flights from many airlines. The latter site was what we really wanted, and would be a logical starting point for all future searches on flight availability.

Many specialized databases are available. One such site is My Virtual Ref­erence Desk (www.refdesk.com) that was introduced in Chapter 1. You can go to this site, then explore its links to arrive at a host of specialized searches. Try, for example, the link to acronyms, to access a specialized database that lets you enter an acronym and determine its meaning. You can also enter a word and request a list of all acronyms containing that word.

Figure 6 displays another favorite page in which you search by category as opposed to entering the text of a specific query. Enter the address of the Web site (www.looksmart.com), and then scroll down the left pane until you find the cate­gory that you want to explore (Entertainment and Media). Click the subcategory (Movies), click the next subcategory (Movies by Genre), then select the specific movie type.