FindArticles Updates

I don't use FindArticles very often, and when I dropped by the other day I thought it looked a little different. An Internet.com article ( http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?e104730209&e=6517 ) confirmed my suspicions; FindArticles ( http://www.findarticles.com ) has been updated.

If you're not familiar with FindArticles.com: it's a joint effort between LookSmart and the Gale Group, and contains over three million articles from over 700 publications. The articles go back to 1998. Searching is simple keyword, and you have the option to limit your search by category.

Search results are listed by relevance, with sponsored results at the top of the page and text ads on the right of article pages. I don't recall these sponsored listings from the last time I used the service (a long time ago) and the site seems to have gotten a cosmetic update. The Internet.com mentioned some algorithm changes but I didn't notice anything in that regard; I've never had a problem with the relevance of the FindArticles results.

My problem with FindArticles is its extreme search limitation. FindArticles is a joint effort of the Gale Group and LookSmart. Fair enough. So why can't those search juggernauts add in some search functionality? The most desperately-needed enhancement: SORT SEARCH RESULTS BY DATE. If they truly want to "boost search volume," as the Internet.com article says, then the ability to let me-the-searcher periodically visit and easily find the latest articles on the topic(s) that interest me would be extremely useful.

FindArticles as an aggregate of information is very impressive: over 700 publications, over 3 million articles. But the fact that there's no way to limit search results beyond basic keyword searching and category specification, and there's no way for repeat visitors to easily get the latest publications that match their interests, turn this strength into a weakness.

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