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both the Mac and Windows platforms. Experienced Web masters are aware of these limitations and code documents
appropriately for these instances.

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Searching for Information on the Web

One of the most useful functions on the Web is the ability to find and download information. A number of programs,
called search engines, can help you locate terms and text that appear on individual sites throughout the Internet. Search
engines are applications that use programmed code to index all the meaningful text in a document. Words like ''and,"
"the," and "but" are not indexed. The index for each document is maintained in a large database. When a request for a
search is made, the application looks for the requested information, based on keywords or a text phrase provided by
the user. Because each search engine uses a different code to locate the data, each search application may provide
different information.

After a search is completed, you will be presented with matches to your request. The list of "hits" is in hypertext
format; clicking on the hypertext link will move you to the site containing the information you requested. If you are
presented with an overwhelmingly large number of hits, you need to refine your search term so as to narrow the field
of possibilities. One way to do this is by using Boolean delimiters. In a Boolean search, the logic connectors AND,
OR, and NOT are used most frequently. For example, if you can ask for apple OR orange, you will get many finds for
apples and for oranges. If you ask for apple AND orange, the search is narrowed to only those articles that contain
mentions of both. If you ask for apple NOT Delicious, you will get references to all apples except Delicious.

Some search engines operate with Boolean logic, using AND, OR, and NOT delimiters. On the Web, however, these
delimiters do not always seem to work as they should. HotBot, one popular search engine, refines and limits the
number of hits by assuming that there is an AND connector between words. Alta Vista, another well-known search
engine, assumes an OR connector between words, thus increasing the number of hits.

It occasionally helps, if you are looking for an entire phrase, to put it in quotes to keep the words together in the
search. For example, if you want to locate information pertaining to the Salk Institute, and not to Jonas Salk, key in
your search term as "Salk Institute." On the other hand, if you are searching for Jonas Salk and put that in quotes, you
might miss locating Salk, Jonas and J. Salk.

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If a search has yielded no hits, you will need to rephrase your request and hope that you will be rewarded for your
diligence. Changing to another search engine frequently works. Most search facilities have a help section that advises
you on how to best use keywords and phrases for their program. Refer to this section whenever you can, because
knowing how to work with one search application may not be of help when you turn to a second one.

While Internet robots can search entire unindexed text when someone initiates a search, indexed material gets faster
results. For your material to be indexed by a search application index, your publisher must file the information with
the index. If you are self-publishing on the Web, you will need to file your work for search-engine indexing.
Web Search Engines

When looking for information in your discipline, you have a number of search applications available to you.
Unfortunately, while some disciplines have an active Web presence, others have resisted electronic residence. For the
latter disciplines, articles and reports published in hardcopy have often not yet been duplicated on the Web.

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