Finding WebContent?

As the Web continues to burgeon with each passing day, it becomes harder and harder to find the "right" Web sites. A basic Web search can yield millions of matching Web pages. Looking for relevant content in a long list of links can feel a bit like shopping at a flea market: you may find what you're looking for, but not without picking through a lot of junk. When following up on search results, you may find that many links are broken (point to nonexistent pages) or unrelated (a search for "renaissance music" returns links to pages about the rock band Renaissance) and that most of the links that are related are insubstantial, poorly executed, or otherwise unreliable. But the "right" sites are out there. You just need to know where, and how, to find them.

Search engines

The premise of a search engine is similar to that of a library catalog: to list the pages on the Web so that users can find them. The principal difference is that in a library, cataloging is done by humans, whereas on the Web most search engine catalogs are created by software robots that roam the Internet looking for new or updated pages. The trouble with robots is that they cannot make fine distinctions between, for example, Jefferson, the president, and Jefferson, Texas. Another significant difference is that libraries tend to have most of their holdings cataloged, whereas no search engine has indexed more than a quarter of the Web. In spite of these limitations, search engines still provide the most extensive catalog of Web holdings.

Subject directories

Using a subject directory is more like consulting a librarian than using the library catalog. With a general notion about the topic you are researching, a librarian can suggest possible options or send you to the appropriate area in the library to browse the shelves. Subject directories are compiled by Web librarians who collect, review, and index Web sites into categories. A subject directory is most useful when you want a broad survey of a subject, for example, celestial navigation or transcendentalism. Because humans, not robots, compile subject directories, they tend to have a much smaller catalog than a search engine, with information that is not as current.

Searching smart

Every search engine has a variety of methods for refining searches. Although many methods are used broadly, search engines are not standardized, so a command that works with one may not work in the same way with another. You may find that some of the commands listed below don't work exactly as shown with your favorite search engine. Don't despair: check the search engine's help pages. Just because the command doesn't work as shown does not mean that the method isn't available - it may just be implemented differently.

When you type a string of words into a search field, most search engines look for pages that match any of your search terms. For example, if you enter "renaissance music" into a search field, the result will contain sites that contain the words "renaissance" or "music." Of the millions of sites listed as the result of this query, only a small number will relate to music from the Renaissance period.

You can use simple operators to formulate more precise search queries. Use the "+" operator to find pages that have all the words you type in your search. The following search locates pages that mention "renaissance" and "music."

+renaissance +music

Use the "-" operator to exclude particular subjects. The following search locates pages that mention "renaissance" and "music" but excludes pages from that set that mention "baroque."

+renaissance +music -baroque

These methods locate words, not concepts. You may get a result that contains the words "music" and "renaissance" somewhere on the page but is actually about the Harlem Renaissance.

To narrow in on a topic, try a phrase search using quotation marks. When you enclose your search words in quotation marks, pages that have all the words in the order specified are returned. A phrase search on "renaissance music" is more likely than a search with operators to locate pages about Renaissance music. You can combine operators with phrase searching for greater precision. The following search will locate pages that deal specifically with music from the Renaissance period by matching the phrase "renaissance music" and excluding those pages that mention "medieval" or "baroque."

"renaissance music" -medieval -baroque

Because a document title is normally a good descriptor of page content, you can sometimes home in on a subject using a title search, which searches for words or phrases that appear in the document title. The search "title:renaissance music" returns pages that have either renaissance or music in the