lesson 4: researching & the internet

Lesson Three

Research

Neijiang Normal University - Brent A. Simoneaux

Websitehttp://www.slideshare.net/bsimoneaux

Lecture

“Transcendentalist Education”

Thursday: 7:00

Lecture Hall

By the end of this lesson, you should know:

• How to take effective notes while reading

• The advantages and disadvantages of printed material and internet sources

• How search engines operate in order to make researching more effective

• Practical resources for researching on the internet

Today’s Objectives

Argumentative Topics

We need to know two basic things about research:

1. How to find useful information2. How to remember the information


How to find useful information

Discuss pg 250 – 252

Evaluating Print vs. Internet SourcesPublication Process

• Print Sources: Traditional print sources go through an extensive publication process that includes editing and article review. The process has fact-checkers, multiple reviewers, and editors to ensure quality of publication.

• Internet Sources: Anyone with a computer and access to the Internet can publish a website or electronic document. Most web documents do not have editors, fact-checkers, or other types of reviewers.

Evaluating Print vs. Internet Sources

Authorship and Affiliations• Print Sources: Print sources clearly indicate

who the author is, what organization(s) he or she is affiliated with, and when his or her work was published.

• Internet Sources: Authorship and affiliations are difficult to determine on the Internet. Some sites my have author and sponsorship listed, but many do not.


Sources and Quotations• Print Sources: In most traditional

publications, external sources of information and direct quotations are clearly marked and identified.

• Internet Sources: Sources the author used or referred to in the text may not be clearly indicated in an Internet source.


Bias and Special Interest• Print Sources: While bias certainly exists in

traditional publications, printing is more expensive and difficult to accomplish. Most major publishers are out to make a profit and will either not cater to special interest groups or will clearly indicate when they are when they are catering to special interest groups.

• Internet Sources: The purpose of the online text may be misleading. A website that appears to be factual may actually be persuasive and/or deceptive.


Author Qualifications• Print Sources: Qualifications of an author are

almost always necessary for print sources. Only qualified authors are likely to have their manuscripts accepted for publication.

• Internet Sources: Even if the author and purpose of a website can be determined, the qualifications of the author are not always given.


Publication Information• Print Sources: Publication information such as date

of publication, publisher, author, and editor are always clearly listed in print publications.

• Internet Sources: Dates of publication and timeliness of information are questionable on the internet. Dates listed on websites could be the date posted, date updated, or a date may not be listed at all.


How to remember the information

Discuss pg 252 – 255 in text

Of course, there are many different ways to take notes. Do

whatever works best for you.

Look at examples.

Understanding the nature of the Internet, how to navigate it, and how it is organized can help

you filter out the quality information and websites from that which does not relate or is

of questionable quality.

Research & The Internet

In 1994, how many web pages did Google have in its index?

A) 1 million

B) 10 million

C) 20 million

D) 200 million


In 2004, how many web pages did Google have in its index?

A) 200 million

B) 1 billion

C) 8 billion

D) 13 billion


Link

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/558/06/

Kinds of Search Engines and Directories

1. Search Engines

2. Meta-search Engines

3. Web Directories

Search Engines and Directories

Search EnginesSearch engines ask for keywords or phrases and

then search the Web for results. www.google.comwww.yahoo.comwww.msn.comwww.lycos.com

www.altavista.com

Kinds of Search Engines and Directories

Visible Web / Invisible Web


Learn how the search engine works

Each search engine has its advantages:

• Google / MSN / Yahoo

• Lycos

• AltaVista


Select your terms carefully

Using inexact terms or terms that are too general will cause you problems. If your early searches turn up too many references, try to find more

specific terms, use boolean operators, or do an advanced search.


Boolean Operators

Most search engines allow you to combine terms with words (referred to as Boolean operators)

such as "and," "or," or "not."

Knowing how to use these terms is very important for a successful search. Most search engines will allow you to apply the Boolean operators in an "advanced search" option.


Boolean OperatorsAND

AND is the most useful and most important term. It tells the search engine to find your first word AND your second word or term. AND can, however, cause problems, especially when you use it with phrases or two terms that are each broad in themselves or likely to appear together in other contexts.

Example: Chicago and Bulls


Boolean OperatorsOR

Use OR when a key term may appear in two different ways.

Example: Nejiang Normal University or NNU


Boolean OperatorsNEAR

NEAR is a term that can only be used on some search engines, and it can be very useful. It tells the search engine to find documents with both words but only when they appear near each other, usually within a few words.

Example: mobile home

Boolean OperatorsNOT

NOT tells the search engine to find a reference that contains one term but not the other. This is useful when a term refers to multiple concepts.

Example: Ralph Waldo Emerson not college


ExampleSuppose we want to do some research about

Transcendentalism and the symbolism of Nathaniel Hawthorne.


ExampleNow, let’s do a search for a paper on the topic of

feminism in Transcendentalism.



Meta-Search Engines

These search other search engines and often search smaller, less well known search engines and specialized sites. These search engines are

good for doing large, sweeping searches of what information is out there.


Meta-Search Engines

Examples:• www.dogpile.com• www.mamma.com

• www.metacrawler.com• www.all4one.com


Web Directories

Web directories (also known as indexes, web indexes or catalogues) are broken down into

categories and sub-categories and are good for broad searches of established sites.


Web Directories

Examples:• http://www.dmoz.com/

• http://search.yahoo.com/dir


Searching the Invisible Web

• www.alexa.com A website that archives older websites that are no longer available on the Internet.

• http://completeplanet.com Provides access to lists of databases which you can then search individually.



• http://highwire.stanford.edu Brought to you by Stanford University, HighWire press provides access to one of the largest databases of free, full-text, scholarly content.

• http://infomine.ucr.edu A research database created by librarians for use at the university level. It includes both a browsable catalogue and searching capabilities.



• www.invisible-web.net A database that provides a host of links to invisible web resources in a variety of categories.

• http://magportal.com A search engine that will allow you to search for free online magazine articles on a wide range of topics.



• www.doaj.org Another full-text journal searchable database.

• www.findarticles.com Indexes over 10 million articles from a variety of different publications.


Other useful sites for finding information

• http://lii.org Provides librarian-reviewed websites and material on a host of different topics. While this site is not exhaustive, it will provide you quality information on a large variety of topics. Some of this material is invisible-web material.

• www.about.com Provides practical information on a large variety of topics written by trained professionals.


Other useful sites for finding information

• www.wikipedia.com The largest free and open access encyclopedia on the internet.

www.stupidcensorship.com

• www.refdesk.com A site that provides reviews and a search feature for free reference materials online.

HomeworkBegin locating three good sources for topic

(use the library or the Internet). Begin reading and taking good notes.

These notes will not be turned in next week. They will be turned in during week 17.

ReadingRead Chapter 5

Next Week:

Summarizing

lesson 4: researching & the internet

Business