Hypertext and Hypermedia

Abstract

In both the paper and electronic information worlds, there are two ways of finding information: searching and browsing. In searching, information is sought by finding terms in an index that point to locations where material about that term may be. In books, for example, searching is done by looking up topics in the index in the back. Searching in electronic resources is carried out using an information retrieval (IR) system. Browsing, however, is done by delving into the text itself, navigating to areas that are presumed to hold the content that is sought. In books, browsing is usually started by consulting the table of contents, but the reader may also follow references within the text to other portions of the book. Electronic browsing in early computer systems was difficult if not possible but has been made easier recently with the advent of hypertext.