"Finding Out About explains how to build the tools that are useful for searching collections of text and other media. In the process it takes a close look at the properties of textual documents that do not become clear until very large collections of them are brought together and shows that the construction of effective search engines requires knowledge of the statistical and mathematical properties of linguistic phenomena, as well as an appreciation for the cognitive foundation we bring to the task as language users. The unique approach of this book is its even handing of the phenomena of both numbers and words, making it accessible to a wide audience." "The textbook is usable in both undergraduate and graduate classes on information retrieval library science, and computational linguistics. The text is accompanied by a CD-ROM that contains a hypertext version of the book, including additional topics and notes not present in the printed edition. In addition, the CD contains the full text of C.J. "Keith" van Rijsbergen's famous textbook, Information Retrieval (now out of print). Many active links from Belew's to van Rijsbergen's hypertexts help to unite the material. Several test corpora and indexing tools are provided, to support the design of your own search engine. Additional exercises using these corpora and code are available to instructors. Also supporting this book is a Web site that will include recent additions to the book, as well as links to sites of new topics and methods."--Jacket.