Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition Unit A

Internet Research – Illustrated 6 th Edition Unit A: Searching the Internet Effectively

Objectives • Understand internet search tools • Create an Internet research strategy • Identify the right keywords • Perform a basic search • Add keywords Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 2

Objectives (cont’d. ) • Use phrase searching • Analyze search results • Understand evaluative criteria • Evaluate a Web page • Cite online resources Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 3

Understanding Internet Search Tools • World Wide Web § § Enormous repository of information Stored on millions of computers all over the world • Internet § § Global network of interconnected smaller networks Used to connect to the information on the Web Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 4

Understanding Internet Search Tools (cont’d. ) • Internet search tools § Services that locate information on the Web • Search query § Tells search tool what information is wanted Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 5

Understanding Internet Search Tools (cont’d. ) • Search engines Locate Web pages § Keywords § • Describe major concepts of search topics § Spider • Program that scans the Web to index keywords • Metasearch engines § Offer a single search form to query multiple search engines Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 6

Understanding Internet Search Tools (cont’d. ) • Specialized search engines § Allow you to find “invisible” information stored in • • • Proprietary databases Specialty directories Reference sites § Deep Web • Invisible area of the Web • Vast majority of information stored is invisible Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 7

Understanding Internet Search Tools (cont’d. ) • Social media search engines § Find content on social media platforms • • Social networks Blogs Microblogs Video and photo sharing sites Social news sites and article directories Q&A (Question-and-Answer) sites Bookmarking sites News aggregators Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 8

Understanding Internet Search Tools (cont’d. ) Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 9

Creating an Internet Research Strategy • Steps to create an effective research strategy: § § Define your topic and note initial keywords Locate background information and identify additional keywords Choose the proper search tool Translate your question Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 10

Creating an Internet Research Strategy (cont’d. ) • Steps to create an effective research strategy (cont’d. ): § § § Perform your search Evaluate your search results Refine your search (if needed) Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 11

Creating an Internet Research Strategy (cont’d. ) 12 Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition

Creating an Internet Research Strategy (cont’d. ) Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 13

Identifying the Right Keywords • Write a sentence or two summarizing the research topic • Study the research topic and pull out potential keywords • Avoid using stop words Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 14

Identifying the Right Keywords • Define keywords and find general topic background information • Identify related terms using keyword generators § Keyword generators produce related words • • Synonyms Plurals Misspellings Other grammatical inflections Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 15

Identifying the Right Keywords (cont’d. ) Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 16

Identifying the Right Keywords (cont’d. ) Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 17

Performing a Basic Search • Search engines often differ in how they perform a basic search • View help page before use • Overcome inconsistencies by using a trial-and-error approach § Use subtle variations Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 18

Performing a Basic Search (cont’d. ) Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 19

Adding Keywords • Most common mistake is entering too few keywords • Entering several keywords § § Narrows or focuses your search results Enables you to locate relevant information more efficiently § Place the most important keywords first in your search Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 20

Adding Keywords (cont’d. ) Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 21

Adding Keywords (cont’d. ) Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 22

Using Phrase Searching • Put quotation marks (“ ”) around words you want to appear together in results § Also called exact phrase • Trending searches § Popular searches done by others using similar keywords Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 23

Using Phrase Searching (cont’d. ) Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 24

Analyzing Search Results • Determine quality of search results: § § Locate your search terms within the search result Decipher the URL/domain • § . com, . edu, . gov, . jk, . uk, etc. Note the result’s ranking in the list • Algorithms/mathematical formulas are used to rank/order results Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 25

Analyzing Search Results (cont’d. ) • Determine quality of search results (cont’d. ): § Determine if search engine uses directory links • § Recommended Web sites organized into categories Determine if search engine uses cached pages • Help in finding newer versions of pages Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 26

Analyzing Search Results (cont’d. ) • Determine quality of search results (cont’d. ): § Navigate between search results pages Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 27

Evaluating a Web Page • Standards used to determine if a Web site is appropriate for your needs • Authority and accountability § Author/owner identity helps determine reliability of site • Objectivity and accuracy § Affects appropriateness Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 28

Evaluating a Web Page (cont’d. ) • Organization and Design § § Attractiveness can mask lack of meaningful information Poor design can make it difficult to locate good content • Scope § Who is the intended audience • Currency § Timeliness and possible broken links Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 29

Evaluating a Web Page (cont’d. ) Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 30

Citing Online Resources • Citation formats § Style guides that standardize how citations are written • Modern Language Association (MLA) • American Psychological Association (APA) • Copyright and Plagiarism § Need to cite Web sites used as a reference to avoid plagiarizing another’s work Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 31

Citing Online Resources (cont’d. ) Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 32

Citing Online Resources (cont’d. ) Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 33

Citing Online Resources (cont’d. ) Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 34

Summary • Understand internet search tools • Create an Internet research strategy • Identify the right keywords • Perform a basic search • Add keywords Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 35

Summary (cont’d. ) • Use phrase searching • Analyze search results • Understand evaluative criteria • Evaluate a Web page • Cite online resources Internet Research Illustrated 6 th Edition 36