Information Jungle HomeLesson Three HomePfau Library Searching the Web Choosing Which Tool to Use YOU'VE GOT your assignment, you know what your topic is, now what?  The very first thing to do is to take a closer look at what you need to find because that will determine where you go next. Subject Directories are Best For... ...finding any good Web site on a broad subject area, for example, counseling, social work, or paleontology. ...finding an overview of a broad subject area. ...familiarizing yourself with what's available on a broad subject area. Search Engines are Best For... ...narrower topics, for example, instead of looking for just anything on psychology, you are looking for information on the famous psychologist, B.F. Skinner. ...pulling out distinctive words or phrases associated with your topic and allowing you to combine them, for example, "crop circles" and extraterrestrials. ...finding similar terms relating to your topic, for example, ("capital punishment" or "death penalty") and statistics ...finding topics with no distinctive words or phrases, for example, "fathers who stay at home." You may end up using both subject directories and search engines but for different aspects of your topic.  For example, you might be doing a paper on the Northridge earthquake in particular, but you also need some background material on earthquakes in general. Lesson Three continues on the next page.