Searching for Information

You must be aware that it's a jungle out there - or rather, a swamp...an information swamp. One must be careful not to misstep or take the wrong trail, or you may get lost. For example, many researchers typically rely on the free Internet for their information needs. If you've ever used an Internet search engine, such as Google or Yahoo, you know it's not uncommon to turn up thousands of documents based on just a couple of keywords. 

Take a look at what happens when you use the keywords Skunk Ape in Google in the next exercise.

 Toggle open/close quiz question

Value: 1
Click on this link to open a Google search. Type Skunk Ape in the search box. Then click search.

How many results do you get?

    a.Over 90,000
    b.Between 15,000 and 90,000
    c.Between 1,000 and 15,000
    d.Between 100 and 1,000

This is both the beauty and the bane of the Internet. You can get bogged down and sink fast in that much information.However, there are other paths that you can travel to find information about your subject and even guide you to additional resources so that you can avoid sinking hip-deep in the information swamp. 


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