internet searching: the basics

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Internet Searching

Jane Ellen InnesCleary University Library

jeinnes@cleary.edu

Sep 2010

What we are covering

What is research? Critical thinking Internet searching (search engines,

strategies, tips) Cleary’s proprietary databases Proquest, Lexis/Nexis/Mel Others Evaluating information

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What is Research?

Primary versus secondary research Writing process stage 2: collecting How does research benefit your papers?

Credibility Professionalism

Where to begin

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Critical Thinking

What is critical thinking and why is it important?

Critical Thinking Taking what you know, combining with what you

learn to reach new conclusion Start with broad concepts and narrow

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Better searching with critical thinking

Who is interested in what you are looking for? Learn about your topic as you search

Get information from search summaries Increase your topic specific vocabulary as you

search

Topic Worksheet

Topic Worksheet Created by Joe Barker, Teaching Library, UC Berkeley

Use search engines to increase your vocabulary on your topic. Take the information you learn from general Internet searches and search the Cleary Online Library.

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Searching

Internet Searching

Search Engines

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What are Search Engines?

Large databases Full text of web pages

Use keywords matching words in pages you want

Built by computer robot programs No selectivity, no evaluation for reliability

Each is different - Minimal standardization All accept “quotes” to search as phrase Good ones assume AND between words

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How do you measure a search engine’s value?1. Size, freshness & unique pages

How comprehensive are they?

2. Ranking of results What order are results displayed in?

3. Default search mode effectiveness Intuitive and easy to use?

4. Advanced search options Can you perform complex searches Can you limit by date, type of site, etc?

5. Overall convenience and usefulness Do you get junk or good stuff?

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How to get the best results from search engines Match words in pages - FULL TEXT

Be as specific as you can search on distinctive words - fallujah put “phrases in quotes” “collateral damage” scan your question for good search terms

Start with one or two words or phrases add as needed to focus results

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BOOLEAN SEARCHING

Search Engine Commands

Means What?

AND (+) Must include all terms

NOT (-) Must exclude term/s

“[topic phrase]”

In quotes - must include exact phrase

OR Match any terms

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Meta Search Engines

Meta Search Engines search multiple sites and retrieve combined results.

Meta Search Engines Explained (thanks UC Berkeley)

Multiple Search Engines, Meta Search Engines, or Metacrawlers

(SearchEngineShowdown)

Choosing the Best Search Engine Check NoodleTools (yes, NoodleTools):

Search Engine Advice

UC Berkeley Recommendations Search Engine Recommendations Subject Directory Recommendations

10 Best Search Engines of 2010 (About.com)

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Get a second opinion

Statistics say no search engine has it all

Only about 60% of pages in Google are also in other search engines

Only 50% of pages in any search engine database are also found in all others

Use another search engine Search Engine Showdown -

http://www.searchengineshowdown.com/

Alternative beyond Google

AskX - http://www.askx.com

Bing - http://www.bing.com/ Exalead (http://www.exalead.com/search)

Create your customized launching page with Exalead

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Need a quick fact?

Answers.com - http://answers.com Yahoo Answers: http://yahoo.answers.com Askville -

http://askville.amazon.com/Index.do

Use with caution; some are more reliable than others.

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Statistics Sources

Nation Master - http://www.nationmaster.com

State Master - http://www.statemaster.com

Source for state, national and international statistics

Cool tool for presenting graphical information

Data from WHO, World Ban, CIA World Factbook, World Resources Institute, etc.

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Scholarly Sources

Some resources require fees – good for reviewing reference lists of similar topics

Google Scholar - http://scholar.google.com/

InfoMine - http://infomine.ucr.edu/

What’s the difference between a scholarly source and a magazine?(courtesy of Univ. Central Florida Libraries)

Cleary Online Libraries

Login information Databases and focus areas

Proquest Basic search, topic search, publication search

Lexis Nexis Updated format makes searching easy

MeL Other, topic specific databases

(marketresearch.com, Hoover, NetLibrary)

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Cleary Online Library databases

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Additional Resources

Cleary Research Wiki http://resources.cleary.edu

Cleary Library Blog http://clearylibrarian.wordpress.com

NoodleTools http://www.noodletools.com

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Off Campus Information Gateway

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1st Initial 1st NameUp to 10 letters of your

last name Last 3 Digits Student ID #CANNOT BE CHANGED

cleary plus2 digit birth month +

2 digit birthday(example: Dec 9 is your

birthday then cleary1209 is your password

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Lexis Nexis

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MeL

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Market Research

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Hoovers

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CountryWatch

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NetLibrary

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Remember

Check the Cleary Research Wiki for information on conducting research

The more you research, the better you get at it

Be patient and don’t always assume that the FIRST article you find is the best.

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EVALUATING INFORMATION

If you are using material that you’ve found via the Cleary Library, there is no need for further evaluation.

If you’ve found some great information on the Internet . . . You need to investigate a little further. . .

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Evaluating Information

Why Evaluate What You Find on the Web? Anyone can put up a Web page

about anything for pennies in minutes

Many pages not kept up-to-date

No quality control

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Evaluating Information

Wikipedia: Good place to start but NOT a definitive source. DO NOT cite in your reference list

Citizendium (signed Wiki) http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Main_Page

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Ask yourself

Credentials for the subject matter ? “About us” “Philosophy” “Background”

“Biography” Is it recent or current enough ?

Look for “last updated” date - usually at bottom Why it the page put on the Web?

Inform, explain, persuade, sell, entice, share, disclose?

Parody or satire? Is it appropriate for your purpose?

5 CRITERIA

For Evaluating Websites

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What are they?

1. Accuracy of Site2. Authority of Site3. Objectivity of Site4. Currency of Site5. Coverage of Site

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ACCURACY Who wrote it? Why did s/he write it? Was the person actually qualified to write it?

Make sure author provides e-mail or a contact address/phone number.

Know the distinction between author and Webmaster.

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AUTHORITY

Who published the document? Different from "Webmaster?"

Check the domain of the document, Does the publisher list qualifications?

What credentials are listed for the authors?

Where is the document published? Check URL domain.

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OBJECTIVITY What are the goals/objectives of the site? How detailed is the information? What opinions (if any) are expressed by the

author?

Determine if page is a mask for advertising

View any Web page as you would a TV infommercial. Purpose and audience.

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CURRENCY

When was it created? When was it updated? Are the links up-to-date?

How many dead links are on the page?

Are the links current or updated regularly?

Is the information on the page outdated?

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COVERAGE Are the links evaluated and are they relevant? All images or a balance of text and images? Is the information presented cited correctly?

If page requires special software to view the information, how much are you missing if you don't have the software?

Is it free or is there a fee, to obtain the information?

Is there an option for text only, or frames, or a suggested browser for better viewing?

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Does is all add up?

Does the web page meet your needs? Remember to determine audience and

purpose

Evaluate sample sites

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Remember

You will rarely find an article that is exactly on your topic. 

Learn to use the information you have to make your point.

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Finally

Use the information you have at hand to find more information – look at URLs, references to additional articles, statistics.

Research will take more time than you think.  Plan ahead!

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