If you are a new Internet user, you may only know of a limited number of Web sites, perhaps just those that were programmed into your Web browser program, or you may just type in the URLs (Web addresses) that you see at the bottom of advertisements.
You may use the What's New or Best of the Web buttons, or you get recommendations from friends and relatives. Perhaps you have never strayed from your company's, organization's, or Internet provider's Web site.
Even if you are a regular Internet user, you may limit your searching to the first directory or search engine you come across or just those to which your browser links.

The purpose of this module is to provide you with an understanding of the breadth of information available on the Internet. You will accomplish this by exploring the different motivations for searching the Internet and by looking over a brief survey of Internet information retrieval tools.
After you have completed this module, you should have a thorough understanding of the differences between search engines, Web directories, and metasearch engines. You will be ready to move on to the basic procedures of searching the Internet.
After completing this module, you will be able to

1. List various reasons people search the Internet
2. Describe the different categories of information retrieval services
3. Identify information on a search results page
4. Explain why you need a search strategy