Web Search Garage

Tara Calishain is the number one guru of web searching skills - believe me. I subscribe to her weekly newsletter, and I am always amazed at the vigour and vigilance with which she keeps track of what's going on. She certainly knows her stuff, and you won't get more up-to-date than this.

It's her latest guide to research skills using the web and the tools that are currently available. We know there are billions of web pages out there. The problem is, how do we locate the ones we want? First she gives a quick tutorial explaining the differences between a full-text search engine (such as Google) and a searchable subject index (such as Yahoo). She explains when to use which one for your research, and how to narrow your searches using Boolean modifiers.


Then she looks at the range of other big search engines available - such as AskJeeves and the Open Directory Project, giving a frank assessment of each one. Next comes a roundup of the free browsers and the extra tools which will simplify your work - media players, toolbars, converters, anti-spam software, and text editors. Her favourite is UltraEdit: mine is TextPad.

When it comes to search techniques, her advice is generic - so you can employ these strategies, no matter what your subject of interest. Use the specific vocabulary - even the slang - of your subject. Search Usenet and other special interest groups whose members might already know the answer to your question. Search individual blogs. She also shows you what to do with your search results when you've got them.

Every page is packed with tips and tricks. For instance, did you know that you can use an asterisk as a wild card in a search on Google, but only as a whole word, not part of a term as it is often used? And that Google only indexes the first 100K of a page, no matter how big it is?

The latter part of the book is devoted to practical examples, showing you how to assess the credibility of a site once you've located it; how to remove unwanted results from a search so as to narrow your enquiry; how to search for news and jobs; local, national, and international information; images and audio files; phone numbers, long-lost ancestors, and even the graves of famous people.

This is an excellent, clearly-written guide to web searching which steers clear of jargon and even throws in a few jokes along the way. Highly recommended.