These individuals may have no special expertise in a given subject, and thus the quality of the sites chosen for inclusion and exclusion may be less than perfect. For obscure or technical topics, universities and government offices often have great links. The people who operate these sites are usually extremely knowledgeable about, and interested in, the topics they cover. Know the difference between a search engine and a directory. Understanding how search tools work, and what the pros and cons of each method are can help simplify on-line research.
Search engines scan the entire internet for data.
They are blunt instruments. Directories are more focused, creating lists of Web sites organized by topic. But they often do not have the wide sweep of a search engine. Internet searching has come a long way, but it is not yet perfect, and a little trial and error may still be in order. Kevin Lee Thomason is an attorney and chief executive officer of The Seamless Website, an Internet design and consulting firm in San Francisco.