The internet is often defined as the source of sources. It is, without a doubt, the most important information source. The internet provides access to an almost limitless quantity of data and documents that grows exponentially by the day. However, this never-ending quantity of information is changing, it is not arranged in any specific way, nor does it follow any kind of structure, and that makes its retrieval particularly difficult. This is why the data or information that we need is not always visible and easy to find immediately, and the process involved in searching for and finding information on the internet almost always requires the use of automated information search tools, such as the so-called search engines, database management systems, catalogues, etc.
|
It is often said that the internet answers practically all our information needs, but we need to ask it the question in the right way. Knowledge of the different sources that may provide us with information and their use and specialisation will also prove extremely useful during a search process.
|
In any case, the first step in an internet information search process should always be to define clearly the purpose of our specific search. In other words, what the answer is that we are searching for and the fact that it has to meet our information needs. Therefore, the time we invest in clearly defining and delimiting the information that we need, why we want it and where we might find it is time invested well and which very often saves time during the process of searching for and finding the information.
|
|
We also need to remember that there may be many types of information searches and that each one of these search types requires a different strategy.
|
For example, in the search for a known document, such as when we are searching for a specific book in a library catalogue or a bookshop catalogue, or when we are searching a database for a specific article, about which we have sufficient bibliographical details to help us find them (title, author, etc.), the search will be quick and straightforward, and the search strategy will be simple, however, we will need to know the source or sources in which to find them and we will require a basic knowledge about how to put questions to a catalogue or database search engine.
| |
|
|
We find ourselves in this very situation when we want to find or confirm a specific piece of data. This is called a factual search.
|
The following provide a few examples of this type of information search: what is the capital of Somalia, what is the website address of Girona City Council, or what is the most popular children's name in 2010 in Catalonia.
| |
|
|
In this type of search, the most important factor is to find the answer and not so much the search strategy; the key, therefore, is to find the most suitable information source in each case.
|
These two search types also have something in common, we know when the search process is complete, i.e. when we have found the document or data that we were looking for. However, this is not the case with another type of search, which we call a themed search, where we need to decide when the search process has ended.
|
In themed searches, the aim is to find information about a question or subject. We do not know beforehand what volume of information there is in the different information sources that we will be consulting or whether we will find all the relevant information or not. These types of searches are ones that require a more elaborate search strategy and that certain knowledge about the search process be put into practice, which we will explain later.
|
In any event, in themed searches it is the user who has to decide that the search is complete when the results obtained have satisfied their information needs.
|
© Fundació per a la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya |  |
|