 Information
Jungle HomeLesson
Three HomePfau
Library
 Searching
the Web
Content, Structure, and Access  WHEN
AN organization or company puts together a database, people sit down and
decide, among other things, exactly what information will go into it (content),
how it will be organized (structure), and how people will be able to find
what they want (access). Unfortunately, the Internet is not like
a regular database. None of the above were taken into consideration
as the Internet evolved and grew. Let's take a closer look at these
three factors. Content As we
saw in Lesson Two, there is no quality control on the Internet.
Anyone with access to the right technology can contribute anything they
want to the Internet. Among the millions of Web pages, the ones
with information on things for sale, people's personal lives, opinions,
hobbies, or pets far out number the scholarly research articles.Structure Although
much thought and planning has gone into how the Internet functions, that
is to say, how raw data and information can easily get from one place
to another, organization of the whole has been ignored. It is electronic
chaos.Access In the
beginning, the Internet was not terribly big or complex. There weren't
that many people contributing to it or using it and it didn't have as
many features as it does today. It was possible to find your way
around by word of mouth or just by exploring on your own. The larger
it got, and the more features it offered (graphics, sound, video), the
more complicated it became. It was only afterwards that any thought
was given to how people could find what they need. Programmers have
been creative and resourceful in designing search tools for the Web, but
it is a tremendously complex task. So far, even the best search
tools still have drawbacks.The Bottom Line The
bottom line is this–if you want to find something specific on the
Internet you must search an enormous, unstructured mass of questionable
material with search tools that are limited in their abilities.
In order to compensate, you need to invest a little time in becoming familiar
with the strengths and weaknesses of a few of the best search tools.
If you learn how to find the best sources you can in an efficient way,
you will end up saving time when doing research, .  |
