I found this article about understanding different kinds of users that get the information online. There are novices that don't know much about what they're searching for or don't understand a lot about computers, and then experts that do. The article has a few different personas it uses to illustrate its point about the different users needs and ablilites. There are also a couple of suggestions for you when designing for these two general types of people.

http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/novices-orienteer