Module 1: Starting with the Web

Peirce College Information Literacy Tutorial

Although many people first go to the Web for information, it is not always the best place for what you need. It's pretty darn difficult to make definitive statements about something as diverse as the Web. But here we go...

Most information on the Web does not go through a review process.
Anyone can publish on the Web without passing the content through an editor. Pages might be written by an expert on the topic, a journalist, a disgruntled consumer or a sixth grader.

Lots of information on the Web is not free.
Many Web pages are free to view, but some commercial sites will charge a fee to access all or part of their information.

Information on the Web is not organized.
Some directories, like Yahoo, collect links to sites and place them in subject lists. But there are too many Web pages for any single directory service or search engine to organize and index.

Most information on the Web is not comprehensive.
The millions of Web pages out there make up an eclectic hodgepodge of information and opinion. Rarely will you be able to use a search engine on the Web to collect information about your topic from different time periods and different types of sources.

Most information on the Web is not permanent.
Some well-maintained sites are updated with very current information, but other sites may become quickly dated or disappear altogether without much notice.

Directories are run by humans who review websites and categorize them within their directories. This leads to a more abridged set of sites which can good or bad depending on what you're searching for. To find awebsite using a directory, you can either browse by subject area or type a query into the search box. Examples of directories include Yahoo!, Librarian's Index to the Internet (LII), and the Internet Public Library (IPL).Also see search engine.

You've probably used search engines like Google, HotBot or AltaVista.

The thing we call a search engine is actually a set of programs. One program, called a robot, periodically moves through the Web following links and capturing information about Web pages. Another part of the search engine builds indexes from the information found by the robot.

Search engines allow users to search, display and organize information found in the index. Some options and interfaces vary between search engines but most of the basic ideas for searching them are the same.