"It's like being in a library where someone has scattered all the books on the floor, attached them together with threads and you are in the dark." -- MorningSide, CBC Radio, about the World Wide Web

 "1^st law of the Internet states that the answer is on the Internet. Therefore the quest is no longer "Where to find the answer" but "How to word the question." -- Randi

You know that the answer to your question is out there somewhere. But where? There are over a billion Web pages that together cover just about every subject imaginable (and many unimaginable), and held together by zillions of hyperlinks. Since there is no card catalog or master index, it is important to know how and where to look for useful (or even useless) information.

So, where to begin? It's important to give some thought to exactly what it is you are looking for. Take time to write down possible search terms ("keywords") or phrases. Also think about what the best source of the information might be. Can it be found on the Web? Would it be better to look for the information on a newsgroup? Would it make sense to post the question to a discussion list? What categories might this information fall under (Leisure? Government? Home Improvement? Health?) Thinking in terms of categories might help you find the information using an online directory. Are you trying to find a person? If so, then there are special sources of information that can be used to locate individuals.

Here is a process for locating resources electronically (especially if the concept is complicated):

1. Form the question and its scope
2. Identify important concepts within the question
3. Identify search terms to describe those concepts
4. Consider of synonyms and variations of those terms
5. Prepare the search logic  (see advanced searching below)
6. Choose an appropriate search index or tool

It may be helpful to work from the general to the specific; for example, start with subject Indexes and then progress to keyword searches.

Fortunately, there are a wide variety of search tools to help you find what you're looking for. The three basic types of Web search tools are: search engines, hand-built subject directories, and search agents. Most of these tools are available free of charge.

These are searchable indexes of web sites by subject category.  It is possible to go into Yahoo or Infoseek and click on the subjects that may apply, or it is also possible to search in Yahoo or Infoseek and come up with a list of items that more specifically matches your interest.  For example, to look for geography data by subject in Yahoo, go to Science, then to Geography, etc. Or, you can enter text in the search box at the top of each page in Yahoo to find categories and sites that relate to your search.

Directories generally begin with very general subject areas, such as "Arts and Humanities," "Regional," or "Business and Economy." The idea is to begin with these general areas, then drill your way down to the specific item for which you are searching. For example, if you would like to find the text of the Vermont Constitution using Yahoo, you would begin by clicking on Regional -- U.S. States -- Vermont -- Government -- Law -- Constitution of the State of Vermont.

The following two subject index sites might be good places to start:

If you are looking for someone, there are specialized directories that work much like the phone book. You can find phone numbers, addresses, and e-mail addresses of people and businesses. Some of these directories will help you conduct "reverse searches" where you can enter a phone number or an address and find out whose it is. Good directories include:

If you are looking for maps or driving directions, check out the following Web sites:

 Search Engines

Use a search engine when you're looking for a specific mention of something on a web page. They allow you to search the contents of millions of Web pages simultaneously. Basically, you go to the search engine's Web page and submit keywords into a simple form. It runs these keywords past its database and quickly returns a list of results, or "hits." There are many to choose from, but some of the best search engines are:

Keep in mind that there are many search engines out there and your favorite one will be a matter of taste. Please shop around until you find one or two that you like. These made the list because they consistently return excellent results.

It's important to know that you are not conducting a live search of the Web. You're merely searching a database of Web pages located on the search engine's server. This database is compiled by a program that crawls around the Web looking for new sites, as well as changes to ones it already knows. Web site developers are also able to submit their sites to search engines and directories (more on directories below), so that information from their sites can be included in search results. Because of all this, search engines are only as good as their most recent findings.

First, use your browser to go to your favorite search site. Search sites have boxes into which you can enter your search terms, or keywords. Give some thought to which keywords will be most likely to lead you to the information you want. It's important to remember that search engines are usually case sensitive. Type most search words in lowercase. If you type elvis, your results could contain elvis, Elvis, or ELVIS. If you type ELVIS, then the search engine will not look for elvis or Elvis. Typing the keywords in all capital letters will severely limit your search results.

After you enter the keywords, press the Enter key, or click on "Search" or "Go" or whatever button the search site uses to initiate the search. After (hopefully) a short time, you will see a page that contains your results. The search engine may put them in order, putting what it thinks are the best matches at the top of the list. Just click on the hyperlinks to go the pages that the search engine found.

Somewhere near the top of the page, there will probably be a message telling you how many pages the search engine found that contain your search terms. At the bottom of the page, there will probably be a "Next" button that will take you a page that contains links to the next 10 or 20 or 50 matches.

Advanced Searches

More Advanced searching often involves the use of logic. The words used to link key words so computers can understand the logic are listed below. It is important to realize that different keyword search tools have different logical operators than the ones listed below. However, the concepts are shared between tools.

• Use at least two or three search terms. By using additional keywords, you can effectively narrow your search, which increases the chances of finding exactly what you're looking for. For example:

There's still a long way to go, but adding three words to the search decreased the number of matches from more than 23 million to a little over seven thousand.

• Be specific. Try to choose words that are unique to the topic. Use the search aids discussed above (AND, OR, NEAR, etc.).
• Use exact phrases. Put quotes around phrases that you're looking for. For example, "Vermont maple syrup" will give you fewer matches than +vermont +maple +syrup.
• Use the advanced search option. Most search sites have the option to conduct an advanced search.

Use your favorite search engine (or one listed above) to find out how much maple syrup was produced in Vermont in 2000.