What Search Engines Do . . .

• Locate, index, retrieve
• Assist with fact-finding (product reviews, historical weather data)
• Help with locating known items (dictionary, encyclopedia, laws)

What Search Engines Don't Do . . .

• Search the entire Web
• Make the Web like a database
• Enable full-text searching (sometimes but not always) - some search engines collect and index select words of a Web page rather than the full-text
• Good for topical or investigative research