65 Getting the Best from the Internet (Information Research)
Description
This article is from the Information Research FAQ, by David Novak david@spireproject.com with numerous contributions by others.
65 Getting the Best from the Internet (Information Research)
A search for information on the internet is not essentially different
from the standard information search process. You still need to start
by outlining carefully just what you are hoping to locate. You also
need to be aware of the peculiarities of the internet as a researchable
resource (or rather a collection of resources). If you expect instant
delivery of exactly what you require, free, then you need a reality
check (and I am sure you will get one real soon). Sadly, the printed
media tends to overlook this.
As with all resources, the more familiar you are with a given resource,
the more efficiently you will work. Get to know the internet for a time
first. Understand how it works. Then re-adjust your expectations and
file it as just another collection of resources, perhaps preferable in
certain circumstances.
A Structured Approach to Searching
Much of this book has been devoted to describing what we could call a
structural approach to finding information. We build a question, select
a format and then search in an essentially static manner. There are
only a few resources of interest for each format.
On the internet, we again do the same. If you want to search online
periodicals (a specific format for information with specific qualities
that might be appropriate) there are just a few sites to review. The
search is simple and straightforward. Search then read then reassess if
it helped answer your question.
The structured approach has been a simpler way to introduce a far more
important application. Searchers know where answers are already -
without ever having read the answer before - without having studied the
topic. This is, after all, one of the few reasons to even consider
paying for professional search assistance.
How does a searcher know where answers lie?
By building up a clear understanding of what information is out there,
where it resides, and how to get to it, a searcher learns to anticipate
the location of answers. Anticipation is everything.
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