The Internet is a great resource for finding statistical data on every imaginable topic, from crime and health to the national economy and the demographics of a city.

But using that data in a story without first talking to someone familiar with it is perilous, to say the least. The numbers you find posted at a Web site could be outdated or self-serving; the methodology for gathering them may be suspect; or a seemingly obvious conclusion you draw from the data may be flat-out wrong.

But before you disconnect your modem, keep in mind that the Internet also can put you in touch with the experts you need to understand the information you've gathered for a story.

You can tap into several Web databases to find experts on particular topics, use e-mail services to get answers to specific questions or go to the Web pages of government agencies to find analysts or public information officers.

  Profnet: A Valuable Resource for Professional Journalists

One of the oldest of the experts resources is Profnet, started by Dan Forbush at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and now part of the PR Newswire service that delivers press releases electronically.

Send an e-mail query to Profnet asking for experts on a particular topic and your request will be distributed automatically to 5,100 public relations people at colleges, universities, research organizations, non-profit groups, government agencies and corporations around the world.

If they know anyone at their institutions who has expertise on your topic, they'll send you an e-mail with the name of the expert and how to get in touch with the person by e-mail or phone.

I've used Profnet to find experts for stories on everything from the psychology of bombers and bank robbers to a holiday affliction called compulsive buying disorder.

Your message to Profnet should include: your name your news organization a description of the topic you're researching how soon you need a response how you want to be contacted (e-mail, fax or phone) Then send your e-mail request to: profnet@profnet.com.

Profnet distributes the queries it receives three times a day.

For a complete description of the Profnet service, check out the user guide at their Web page.

One caveat -- because of the volume of queries that Profnet receives, it limits its service to people working for news organizations. So requests from student journalists will not be processed.

For students and for reporters working on a tight deadline, Profnet also runs an 'Experts Database' at its Web site that has the names of 2,000 people with expertise in particular areas. That database can be searched by keyword to find people who have studied or written about a specific subject, along with their contact information.

  Databases of Experts for Professional and Student Journalists

A number of other Web sites offer similar searchable databases of experts or e-mail query services.

FACSNET (http://www.facsnet.org/sources_online/facs_source/main.html) has a 'News Sources' database you can search by keyword to reach academics and other experts in specific areas. FACSNET is run by the Foundation for American Communications, a non-profit organization that sponsors educational programs and online resources for journalists.

Purdue University operates the 'Big Ten Plus' Web page (http://news.uns.purdue.edu/newsweb.experts.html) to help journalists find experts at 15 Midwestern universities.

At that page you can click on the highlighted words 'Big 10+ NewsNet' to get instructions on filling out an online form to get the names of experts on a specific topic at any of the 15 universities.

Alternatively, you can click on the highlighted words 'Experts Data Base' to get links to nine of the universities' Web databases that let you search by keyword for an expert in a particular area.

For science and technology questions, you can try the Media Resource Service run by Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, a non-profit organization for scientists and engineers.

There you'll find a Web form into which you type your name, news organization, deadline and the kind of information you're seeking. Media Resource Service will check its database of 30,000 scientists, engineers and other professionals for someone who is a specialist on your topic. You'll then be contacted and given the names of the experts to call.

Still more Web sites allow you to do keyword searches to find organizations, government agencies and private companies that specialize in specific subjects.

Experts.com (http://www.experts.com/engine.html) was set up by The Noble Group, an Internet information technology company, to assist attorneys, journalists and researchers in locating experts. Just type some words defining your topic into the search box, and you'll get a list of organizations and people that have noted that topic in their areas of interest.

For a comprehensive list of all the different find-an-expert services available on the Internet, go to the 'Sources and Experts Web Page' (http://sunsite.unc.edu/slanews/internet/experts.html).

This resource, put together by Kitty Bennett of the St. Petersburg Times, has links to scores of Internet sites that list specialists in various subject areas.

  Government Agency Databases: How To Beat the Voice Mail System

What if you already know the government agency to contact, but you're not sure exactly who you should call there?

The Internet can help you avoid those maddening recorded phone messages you get when you try calling an agency's general number for help.

Some government agency Web pages list their staff by area of expertise, and almost all have a section for their public relations or press offices, including phone numbers or e-mail addresses to contact them directly.

The U.S. Census Bureau has a Subject Contacts List (http://www.census.gov/contacts/www/contacts.html) that groups Census analysts by the demographic topics in which they specialize. Next to each analyst's name will be his or her phone line.

You also can click on the highlighted words 'Ask the Experts' near the top of the page to send an e-mail note to the Census Bureau asking for assistance on a particular topic.

These services are a great way to find analysts who can help you locate demographic data that may be more up-to-date than the now nearly decade-old 1990 population census.

If no general staff listings are available at a government agency's Web site, you still usually will find a phone number there for the public information office.

On the home page of an agency look for an area labeled something like 'News,' 'What's New,' 'Briefing Room' or 'News & Events,' which usually is the link to the public information office section of the site.

If you don't see a phone number listed there, try clicking on a recent press release. Invariably the name and phone number for a press officer will be listed at the top of the news release.