research on the web
TRANSCRIPT
Using the WWW to Build Community
A guide to resources and safe surfing
The Tools
• Ways of connecting individuals in such a way that they can share knowledge about the things they care about.
• Disproportionate advantage for people who are away from urban centers -- information becomes accessible through the web.
User-generated Content
• The web allows the creation of knowledge in a bottom-up, rather than top-down direction.
• Experts are not determined by degrees or credentials. Experts are the people who have the knowledge, no matter who or where they are.
Video Tools
• YouTube
• Google Video
• Blip
• Leak
Photography Tools
• Flickr!
Survey Tools
• Survey Monkey
Writing Tools
• Writely
• Google Docs (Also offers spreadsheet)
Graphical Tools
• Frappr (Mapping Tool)
• Wayfaring (Mapping Tool)
Filtering Tools
• Newstrust
• Digg
Critical Evaluation of Web Content
• Why Evaluate What You Find on the Web?
• Anyone can put up a Web page– about anything
• Many pages not kept up-to-date
• No quality control– most sites not “peer-reviewed”
• less trustworthy than scholarly publications
– no selection guidelines for search engines
Before you click to view the page...
• Look at the URL - personal page or site ? ~ or % or users or members
• Domain name appropriate for the content ? edu, com, org, net, gov, ca.us, uk, etc.
• Published by an entity that makes sense ? • News from its source?
www.nytimes.com
• Advice from valid agency? www.nih.gov/www.nlm.nih.gov/www.nimh.nih.gov/
Scan the perimeter of the page
• Can you tell who wrote it ?• name of page author• organization, institution, agency you recognize• e-mail contact by itself not enough
• Credentials for the subject matter ?– Look for links to:
“About us” “Philosophy” “Background” “Biography”
• Is it recent or current enough ?• Look for “last updated” date - usually at bottom
• If no links or other clues...• truncate back the URL
http://hs.houstonisd.org/hspva/academic/Science/Thinkquest/gail/text/ethics.html
Indicators of quality
• Sources documented• links, footnotes, etc.
– As detailed as you expect in print publications ?
• do the links work ?
• Information retyped or forged• why not a link to published version instead ?
• Links to other resources• biased, slanted ?
What Do Others Say ?
• Search the URL in alexa.com– Who links to the site? Who owns the domain?
– Type or paste the URL into the basic search box
– Traffic for top 100,000 sites
• See what links are in Google’s Similar pages
• Look up the page author in Google
Does it all add up?
• Why was the page put on the Web ? • inform with facts and data? • explain, persuade? • sell, entice?
• share, disclose?• as a parody or satire?
• Is it appropriate for your purpose?
Might it be ironic? Satire or parody?
• Think about the "tone" of the page.• Humorous? Parody? Exaggerated?
Overblown arguments?• Outrageous photographs or
juxtaposition of unlikely images?• Arguing a viewpoint with examples that
suggest that what is argued is ultimately not possible.
Kayak Attack
• GoogleVideo:– Kayak Attack
• Snoops:– The Truth
Try evaluating some sites...1. Search a controversial topic in Google:
– "nuclear armageddon"– prions danger– “stem cells” abortion
2. Scan the first two pages of results
3. Visit one or two sites – try to evaluate their quality and reliability
Citations
• Citations ad credibility to a work (whether on the the web or not).
• They help readers to find source material.
• They indicate original research.
• They protect against any claim of plagiarism.
How to cite web content
Reference List:• Author or Editor. Date. Title of work. Edition.
[Type of medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional: retrieval information [Access date].
or• Author or Editor. Date. Title of work. Edition.
[Type of medium]: Supplier/Database identifier or number/Item name or number [Access date].
Examples
• Crouse, Maurice. 4 August 2006. Citing electronic information in history papers. <http://history.memphis.edu/mcrouse/ elcite.html> [4 August 2006].
• Online Book Initiative [Public-domain electronic texts]. No date. <gopher://ftp.std.com/11/obi> [3 December 1996].
• Kehoe, Brian P. 1992. Zen and the art of the Internet. 2d ed. <ftp://quake.think.com/pub /etext/1992/zen10.txt> [25 March 1995].
MLA: Books
• Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.
Examples
• Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.
• Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. Denver: MacMurray, 1999.
Periodicals
• Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages.
Examples
• Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time 20 Nov. 2000: 70-71.
• Trembacki, Paul. "Brees Hopes to Win Heisman for Team." Purdue Exponent 5 Dec. 2000: 20.