Filtering the Information "Overload"
by David Goldsmith

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You’ve started to research a topic on the Internet. You’ve typed in your subject, pressed enter and…there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that there’s plenty of information. The bad news is that there’s plenty of information: "1-20 of 17,428 possible sites." You look at your watch. You look back at the screen. Now what?

Today’s worldwide web brings to us blessings of abundance. While we’re fortunate to have pertinent information at our fingertips, filtering out what we need from the copious quantities can be burdensome. Here are 10 tips to make your next research experience faster and easier.

1. State your objective (on paper.) It can be easy to be diverted from your original goal by the non-essential information. Refer to your objective periodically to stay on track.

2. Use search engines. Select three. All three will search and present information differently. Depending on your project, use the one(s) that serve you most efficiently. Try Yahoo, Hotbot, Northern Lights, and Excite.

3. Speed read or scan. Speed reading is easier than many think. It’s also an incredible time saver. You can sift through 300-5000 words per minute speed reading versus 150-180 wpm of traditional reading.

4. Use multiple windows open on your browser, to follow different directions, at the same time. Multiple windows allow you to follow two different trains of thought simultaneously. Copy your current address, open a new window of your browser, then paste the address in the appropriate field and continue. Now when you come to a dead end, you can easily return to a useful site.

5. Find a reference tool like Alexa.com. The program provides a list of related articles in a side window that a search engine has missed.

6. Follow links within sites. Today you will find that web producers will put information within a site that is a summary of a larger more coherent picture. Follow the trail.

7. Have an inexpensive output device. This does not mean inexpensive in terms of the item’s purchase price, just inexpensive in terms of output. The cost to output is approximately 2-10 cents per copy or less on a black and white or and up to a $1.00 on a color. Have the right tools.

8. Throw out the trash immediately. We can output reams of paper in no time. Making a quick judgement call now prevents dealing with mountains of irrelevant paperwork later.

9. Create summaries, charts, and graphs of information. The quickest way to save or learn information is to process it. Imbedding information in your mind breeds further exploration or inter-relation of ideas.

10. Assess your filing system. We are living in a digital age using Thomas Jefferson’s filing techniques. Scan and file on your computer. Look into programs, like The Paper Tiger, to file and cross reference information. (You can also explore cutting edge programs, such as Natrificial Brain, that allow you to create 3-dimensional filing systems.)

Access to information is immediate and far-reaching. The immense amount of information that is available on any topic can be overwhelming rather than useful. By learning and applying efficient filtering techniques, you can manage information so that it works for you.