CONGRATULATIONS! Now that you've found your way onto the World Wide Web, you have all the world's computer-stored information resources at yourfingertips, right? Sort of.
The good news is you can have access to information from companies,libraries, universities, governments, organizations and individuals fromaround the world with just a few keystrokes. The Web is simple enough forjust about anyone to use, so even the technically challenged among us canaccess the internet. Anyone with Web browsing software can make use of thisvast information resource.
The bad news is it's not very well organized, which can frustrate andintimidate new users. It's easy to get caught up in the seemingly endlessthreads of information, perhaps never finding what you're really interestedin. Pretty soon, you're lost in cyberspace.
So how do you find what you need from this vast array of knowledge? There aretwo simple things to keep in mind: use the right tool for the job, and makesure you're looking at the big picture; use as much of the Web as possible to get the best results.
Spiders to the rescue
To avoid wasting time on the Web (though it can be highly enjoyable), you'll need a tool to help you find what you're looking for, sort of like a card catalog to the world's biggest library. To make sense of what's available to you, you need an efficient way to access as much of that information as possible. Enter the spiders.
Spiders are software programs which, when things are quietest on the web,spend their time looking around to see what's there. They store what theylearn in a central location and make it available to regular folks -- a sort of index to the contents of the web. Suddenly it becomes possible to research a topic and its cross- references by visiting only one Web site.
Although the Web is too vast for humans to handle alone, the tirelesssoftware spiders do the dirty work, searching for topics and cross-referencesand bringing the results home to you. A number of companies have emerged toprovide this service to Web surfers. Called search engines, these sitesconduct an online search based on what their spiders have learned. Simplyenter key words or phrases having to do with a topic and wait for yourresults. Seconds later, the results appear, ranked by their relevance to the search topic.
What do you need from a search?
Different types of engines provide different searching methods. Directories,like Yahoo (to go there, enter "http://www.yahoo.com" into your browser),allow you to search through a number of topics, and are arranged by categoryor alphabetic order. Catalogs, like Lycos (http://www.lycos.com), are morespecific in their approach, allowing you to conduct a search based on keywords or phrases.
Consider Leonardo DaVinci, for example. If you want to learn about his art, adirectory is an excellent place to start; simply find the category "Art" andgo from there. If, however, you want to learn about his other pursuits, suchas architecture or anatomy, the directory will quickly let you down. Acatalog which allows you to ask the question "What were Leonardo DaVinci'spursuits?" is better suited to the task.
Even more important than the search method is the proportion of the web anindex has documented. Some search engines require human input for all or partof the research process. This means the number of web sites investigated andindexed by each engine can vary widely.
The Web grows exponentially -- too fast for mere humans to keep up with. Anefficient search engine requires little or no human intervention -- spiderscan document the web far more quickly.
There are two other major differences in Web catalogs: what KIND of Webcontent they index, and how MUCH of the Web they index. Many Web catalogsinclude only documents containing text, while others include text, sound,computer programs and images. If you're looking for pictures of dogs, you'll
want to search a Web catalog which includes images. Some companies evenprovide a kind of rating service, such as Point Communication's Survey(http://www.pointcom.com), giving you an idea (albeit subjective) of a given Web site's content and quality.
For best results, use liberally
Finally, but perhaps most importantly, consider how much of the Web thecatalog includes. A good tool will allow you to search as much of the Web aspossible. Think of doing research at the Library of Congress vs. visitingyour local neighborhood library. Both will provide you with relevant
information, but one will most certainly outstrip the other. The morevolumes, the better the research potential.
Similarly, when searching the Web, you want to use the search engine with thegreatest number of sites cataloged to make sure that everything that mightexist on the Web is found. But in fact, most web indices don't include evenhalf of what is on the Web, and only one includes more than 90%.
The best way to decide where to start is to visit one of the http: addressesmentioned above and start looking around. You'll be amazed at the richnessand depth of information available, and before you know it, you'll be crawling around Cyberspace like a virtual spider yourself.
Sarah F. Garnsey is a BCS Member who works for 'Lycos, Inc. -- The Catalog of the Internet'. Visit her on the Internet at http://www.lycos.com or e-mail: sgarnsey@lycos.com