Subject Directory Exercise (ctd)

About.com | ipl2 | Intute | MSN Channels

2. About.com - Subject Guide

Go to About.com (www.about.com). This is the Web home for about 750 guides to the Net. Subject specialists have created substantial guides for finding information in their subject areas on the Web. From AIDS to Yoga, there are guides to match many interests and needs. In 2009, About.com received the People's Voice Webby Award in the guides and reviews category.

1. There are several top-level channels. Browse through the offerings or use the Search form.

2. When searching use one or two words and stay very broad. For example, search for digital cameras. Look for About.com Search Results, About.com will list many pages from the Digital Cameras guide (cameras.about.com).

3. Once you are in a guided area, such as Cameras, you can search just that guide. Use the same search box, and on the search results page look for results from cameras.about.com.
   
   

   In Cameras, you might search for online photos and pick up some tips on storing and sharing photos online or finding photo editing software.

3. ipl2

IPL2 has the tagline, "information you can trust". This small directory is maintained a consortium of colleges and universities with programs in information science and hosted at Drexel University. The aim has been to select sites that have been shown to provide accurate, factual information on topics. The orientation is to the public, mainly in the United States, but having value for other nations. IPL2 is the product of a merger during 2009 of the Internet Public Library and Librarians' Index to the Web. There are over 20,000 sites, well described and well indexed.

1. Look over the front page - http://www.ipl.org/index.html - and choose Resources by Subject.

2. Resources by Subject has 11 main categories.

3. Find out which subject directories ipl2 considers to be the best. Under Reference, select Web Directories.

4. Now, run a search for "fast food". Note the quality of the sites. Click on the magnifying class for more information about the entry.

5. Use the Topics associated with the result to find more sites pertinent to your interest - such as Nutrition.
   
   

4. Intute - Academic and Educational

Intute (www.intute.ac.uk) is the best English-language directory for academic and scholarly resources. It was created by librarians in the UK for students, scholars, and teachers. There are well over 123,000 resources in the broad subject areas of:

1. Arts and Humanities
2. Health and Life Sciences
3. Science, Engineering and Technology
4. Social Sciences

Intute provides a finer definition of subject areas and searchers can filter by resource type and period. Individuals can create MyIntute accounts for saving searches and alerts.

The simplest method for navigating is to enter two or three words in the search box, and explore the results and their references to other resources. Topics must be broad.

1. Search for black history canada.
2. Intute reports the number of catalogue results - in this case 11.
3. Review the results and note the descriptions.
4. Click on More Details to get more information about the resource.
5. Use the keywords and classification to find more resources about the slave trade.

Regretfully, Intute has received notice that funding for the directory in its current form will end in August 2010.

5. Sympatico: The Channel Style

Go to Sympatico.ca. Sympatico, long association with Microsoft's MSN, is on its own as one of the few Canadian portals. The home page presents several channels for sports, guides, lifestyle - and within these, practical topics such as autos, careers, lifestyle. These are centres of activity featuring news stories, how-to guides, tools, and sometimes goods for sale. This style is typical of a portal and can also be seen at Yahoo.

1. Look at the image below. Note the emphasis on practicality - going places, look-it-up, living. Under Technology, select Tech and Gadgets -- you will see categories for product reviews, how-to, news and trends.

2. Explore one of the Tech and Gadgets' categories, such as Help and How-To. (Check tabs at top of portal page.)

Where to Next?

Review this list of the best subject directories