By Jana Edwards, edwards@ufl.edu

Searching & Researching on the Internet & the World Wide Web  by Ernest Ackermann and Karen Hartman.  Wilsonville, OR: Franklin, Beedle & Associates, c1998. ISBN 1-887902-26-0, $29.95 <http://www.fbeedle.com/> 

Ernest Ackermann, computer science professor at Mary Washington College (MWC), has written an impressive follow-up to his books, Learning to Use the Internet, and Learning to Use the World Wide Web.  With the aid of co-author Karen Hartman, a MWC reference librarian, Ackermann has tackled the broad topic of conducting research via the Internet.  These two accomplished Internet teachers (check out their web pages) have succeeded, unsurprisingly, in writing an easy-to-digest, beginner's guide for students taking college-level Internet courses, and readers involved in independent study. 

Starting with the basics, the authors define the Internet and the WWW, explain the concept and operation of web browsers, and cover general set-up and installation issues for users installing a browser for the first time.  As many readers will be installing the accompanying copy of Netscape Navigator 4.0 (Windows95) from the CD-ROM that accompanies the book, this makes it easier for their target audience.  Though the examples in the book are tailored to the use of Windows95 and Navigator 4.0, the concepts extend to other brands of browsers and operating systems. 

After acquainting the reader with Navigator 4.0, the authors introduce the major resources that are generally available on the web as well as searching techniques such as Boolean operators and phrase searches. Ackermann and Hartman categorize Internet information sources into subject directories, virtual libraries, search engines, specialized proprietary databases, web-based library catalogs, ftp archives, discussion groups and directory services (email, telephone, etc.) Librarians will find the distinction between  "subject directories" and "virtual libraries" refreshing.  Subject directories are defined as guides that offer hierarchical subject access to web resources, such as YAHOO, Lycos Top 5%, Galaxy and the WebCrawler Guide.  Virtual libraries such as The Internet Public Library, The Librarians' Index to the Internet, and the Argus Clearinghouse, provide access in the same manner, but are more selective guides to web resources that have been evaluated by librarians or information specialists.  The book also offers some coverage of proprietary web databases and services, as many users are confused as to where services like Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe and databases such as Hoover's Online fit into the picture. 
 

With the possibilities for information retrieval established, the authors move on to examine each category of information source in depth, explaining first the organizational structure and content, then strategies for searching that particular source.  For example, in the chapter on search engines, the authors briefly explain how programs called "spiders" traverse the Internet indexing web pages for search engines, how the search engines create descriptive web databases with the information found via the spider, and how users when utilizing a search engine actually search the engine's databases for pointers to web sites that match their requests.  The reader then practices these searching techniques by connecting to various search engines and following guided activities, such as looking for information about the Peruvian revolutionary group, "the Shining Path", using HotBot.  The activities feature numerous screen-snapshots of actual web pages, to help orient the readers.  More hands-on exercises and projects are included at the end of each chapter, for continued practice. Instruction librarians will be happy to hear that these useful activities are available online, at the book's accompanying web site <http://www.mwc.edu/ernie/search-web.html>. 

Searching & Researching includes excellent guidelines for evaluating web pages and information found via the Internet.  The authors discuss criteria such as, authorship, currency, audience, accuracy and bias of content, as well as the purpose of the source.  But because establishing the above criteria can be difficult, the authors share methods for detecting the authorship, etc., most of which can be found using ... yes... the Web!   For example, there is the standard but clever technique of progressively stripping directory levels of a URL to discover more about a web page's originating site, which is a technique an inexperienced web searcher probably wouldn't think of using. 

All in all, Ackermann and Hartman have done a remarkable job in crafting a fairly exhaustive guide, using clear and understandable explanations of an abstract process and medium.  But there were some areas where I would have liked further discussion.  As a librarian and teacher who often works with new computer and Internet users, I would have liked to have seen more time devoted a basic principle of Boolean logic, the "AND" operator, a non-intuitive concept for many new searchers.  This is further complicated by information sources such as search engines, searchable subject directories, library catalogs and proprietary databases differing in how they implement the "AND" feature in searching, ranging from "AND" being implied between two keywords, to radio buttons to use of the "+" symbol.  I recommend that readers refer to the books' accompanying web site for a more satisfactory treatment of Boolean operators, complete with links to other web pages that treat the concepts.The chapter on web-based library catalogs was adequate, but would have been much better with the addition of a brief discussion of "records" and "fields."  I'm not recommending a detailed discussion of the MARC record, but as the idea of fields was broached in discussion of the structure of web pages, it wouldn't have been hard to expand this concept earlier in the discussion of library catalogs. 

Finally, it would have been valuable for Ackermann and Hartman to spend more time on the depth and breadth of the various search engines.  It is difficult to convey to new users how search engines vary widely in the number of web pages that they index, in how often they update their indexes and in the amount of the web pages that each indexes. As Sullivan (1998) puts it, "Unfortunately, most people assume that search engines index everything." Because many search engines are constantly being improved and new ones are being programmed, the depth and breadth of coverage of the WWW is in constant flux.  For more information on the variations in coverage, compare the characteristics of selected search engines at SearchEngineWatch <http://www.searchengine.com>. 
 

References 

Ackermann, Ernest.  "Home page."  1 June 1998.  <http://www.mwc.edu/ernie/> (19 Oct. 1998). 

Ackermann, Ernest. Searching and Researching on the Internet and the World Wide Web: For Students, Teachers, Librarians, and Folks Who Want to Stay in the Know. 15 Oct. 1998. <http://www.mwc.edu/ernie/search-web.html>  (19 Oct. 1998). 

Alta Vista <http://altavista.digital.com> 

Argus Clearinghouse <http://www.clearinghouse.net> 

Galaxy <http://galaxy.einet.net/> 

Hartman, Karen.  Introduction to the Internet for Educators. Unknown.  <http://WWW3.mwc.edu/~khartman/> (19 Oct. 1998). 

HotBot <http://www.hotbot.com/>. 

The Internet Public Library <http://www.ipl.org> 

The Librarians' Index to the Internet <http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/internetindex> 

Lycos Top 5% Websites <http://point.lycos.com/categories/> 

SearchEngineWatch  <http://www.searchengine.com> 

Sullivan, Danny.  "How Big Are The Search Engines?" Search Engine Watch.  13 June 1997. <http://searchenginewatch.internet.com/facts/size.html> (19 Oct. 1998). 

Yahoo <http://www.yahoo.com> 

WebCrawler Guide <http://webcrawler.com>