BKW3SRST.RVW   960416
 
"Web Search Strategies", Bryan Pfaffenberger, 1996, 1-55828-470-2,
U$29.95/C$41.95
%A   Bryan Pfaffenberger bp@virginia.edu
%C   115 West 18th Street, New York, NY   10011-4195
%D   1996
%G   1-55828-470-2
%I   MIS Press/M&T Books/Henry Holt
%O   U$29.95/C$41.95 +1-212-886-9378 fax: +1-212-633-0748, +1-212-807-6654
%O   76712.2644@compuserve.com http://www.mispress.com fburke@fsb.superlink.net
%P   427
%T   "Web Search Strategies"
 
This book does contain a wealth of interesting information, particularly in
terms of subject organized Web sites and search engines.  The author breaks
topical sites down into "Starting Points", "Subject Trees" and "Trailblazer
Pages".  These divisions appear to be arbitrary, and mean that you have to look
in three places to gather the whole set of information, but a good deal of it
is there.  (New sites, of course, spring up on the net all the time: the
publication of the book must have missed AltaVista by a very slim margin.)
 
Strategies, however, are not a major focus.  A point always mentioned by
experienced searchers is to use a text browser or to turn off images to speed
"surfing" time: Pfaffenberger recommends the use of a graphical browser.  The
actual lists of tactics comprise only two chapters.  They are quite helpful for
rank newcomers, but don't go into much depth.  For example, boolean (logical)
operators are covered, but only briefly, and in isolation.  There is no
coverage of combined boolean algebra (absolutely essential to fine tune your
requests on large search engines) and only scant mention of boolean options in
the discussions of specific search sites.
 
For newcomers overwhelmed by the size of the Web, this will provide at least a
starting point.  The sites listed, and procedures suggested, can help you begin
to see entry points.  Effective use of the Web, however, will require either
more information or experience.
 
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1996   BKW3SRST.RVW   960416

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