Library and Internet Research Integrating Library Internet Research
Library and Internet Research
Integrating Library & Internet Research l Library and Internet sources are closely connected l You can use the Internet to access many of the library’s resources: Book catalog l Periodical index l Electronic databases (subscription services) l
Library Research l Get a library card! This will allow you to access all the libraries within the SNAP system (Solano-Napa Library System) l It also grants access to electronic databases that are only available through a subscription. l www. napavalley. edu
Electronic Databases l This describes a wide range of databases available to you through the library, including the online catalog. l You can also access thousands of articles through one of the indexes the NVC Library subscribes to. l These subscription databases are useful for several reasons
Electronic Databases l The electronic subscription databases list publication information for articles. l Some databases also list the full text of the article, which you can email or fax to your own computer l These databases ONLY list sources that are reputable and trustworthy.
Working Bibliography: Keeping Track of Your Research A working bibliography is a preliminary, ongoing record of books, articles, Web sites – all the sources of information you discover as you research your information. l Each entry in a working bibliography is called a bibliography citation. The information you include in your bibliographic citation will help you find the source in the library and then document it in your Works Cited. l
Taking Notes l Photocopy your sources and annotate them l Take notes by paraphrasing, summarizing and quoting useful material. l Make sure you include the page numbers for all paraphrases, summaries and quotations. l Place ALL quotations in quotation marks
Internet Research l The Internet can be a great tool for research, but finding quality web materials and using them to your advantage in your writing can be challenging.
Why do we need to evaluate sources? l Virtually anyone can publish anything on the internet. l Unlike most print sources, web sources do not have to be professionally accepted and edited to be published.
Search Sites: Many Types! Search engines l Web directories l Deep Web Search Sites & Directories l Meta Search Sites l News Search Sites l Reference Search Sites l Government Search Sites & directories l Blog Search Sites l Social Network Search Sites l
Web Search Engines l When you use a Web search engine, you obtain info about Web pages & other forms of info on the Internet, including: PDF files l Power. Point files l Word files l Blogs l Newsgroups l
Leading Web Search Engines l Alltheweb: l Alta. Vista: l Ask: l Excite: l Gigablast: l Google: l Live Search alltheweb. com altavista. com ask. com excite. com gigablast. com google. com live. com
Keep in mind l Most search engines index a small portion of the Web (5 -50%). l Use more than one search engine to search the Web.
Web Directories l Unlike Web search sites, Web directories employ human editors to organize information about Web pages into categories. l This allows you to search within a collection of Web sites that have already been judged by real people to be relevant to your topic.
Leading Web Directories l About. com about. com l Best of the Web: botw. org l Google Directory: google. com/dirhp l Hoppa: hoppa. com l Info. Mine: infomine. ucr. edu l Internet Public Library: ipl. org l Joe. Ant: joeant. com
Leading Web Directories l Librarians Internet Index: lii. org l Open Directory Project: dmoz. org l Web World: webworldindex. com l WWW Virtual Library: vlib. org l Yahoo! Directory: dir. yahoo. com
Deep Web Search Sites and Directories l Many specialized topics are addressed through database-supported Web sites that are not indexed by conventional Web search sites. l These sites are called the Deep Web, or the Invisible Web because they are not easily found.
Deep Web Search Sites & Directories l Academic l Info: academicinfo. net l Complete Planet: aip. completeplanet. com l Direct Search: l freepint. com/gary/direct. htm l Turbo 10. com: l turbo 10. com
Meta Search Sites l These sites allow you to conduct a search on several Web search engines or directories at the same time. l These sites typically search the major search engines and directories and then present a limited number of results on a single page.
Meta Search Sites l Clusty: clusty. com l Dogpile: dogpile. com l Ixquick: ixquick. com l Kartoo: kartoo. com l Mamma: mamma. com l Metacrawler: metacrawler. com l Zuula: zuula. com
News Search Sites l Allthe. Web News: alltheweb. com/? cat=news l Alta Vista News: altavista. com/news l Ask News: news. ask. com l Google News: news. google. com l Rocket. Info. com: rocketnews. com l World News: wn. com
Reference Search Sites l These sites help you find information that has been collected in encyclopedias, almanacs, atlases, dictionaries, and other reference resources.
Reference Search Sites l Bartleby. com Reference: bartleby. com/reference l Encyclopedia. com: encyclopedia. com l Encyclopedia Brittanica Online: britannica. com l Information Please: infoplease. com l MSN Encarta: encarta. msn. com
Government Documents: Search Sites and Directories l These sites allow you find information provided by government agencies and institutions.
Some Government Database Sites and Directories l About. com’s U. S. Government Information Directory: usgovinfo. about. com l Fed. Stats: fedtstats. gov l Fed. World: fedworld. gov l Google U. S. Government Search: google. com/ig/usgov
Some Government Database Sites and Directories l Government Printing Office Access: gpoaccess. gov l Gov. Spot. com: gpoaccess. gov l Search. Gov. com: searchgov. com l State and Local Government Directory: statelocalgov. net l USA. gov: usa. gov
Search with Keywords and Phrases l Use words like AND or OR to limit your search and get more specific information. l Check out www. searchenginewatch. com for great information on how to limit or expand internet searches.
Evaluating Electronic Sources l l Evaluating a source means evaluating its: l l l Relevance Evidence Author Credibility Timeliness Comprehensiveness Accuracy
Evaluating Electronic Sources: Relevance l Relevance is the extent to which a source provides information you can use in your project. l Determine whether the information in a source will help you accomplish your purpose.
Evaluating Electronic Sources: Evidence l Is enough evidence offered? l Is the right kind of evidence offered? l Is the evidence used ethically? l Is the evidence convincing? l Is the source of the evidence provided?
Evaluating Electronic Sources: Author l Is the author knowledgeable about the topic? l What is the author’s affiliation? l How do the author’s biases affect the information, ideas, and arguments?
Identify the web site l Who is the creator of the site? l What is the purpose of the site? l Who is the audience of this site? l Can you purchase products at this site? l Is the site affiliated with a business or university? l Does the site list idiosyncratic information about a person or group?
Evaluating Electronic Sources: Credibility l Pay special attention to Websites and Blogs. l Examine the domain: (. edu, . com, etc). l Look for information about the site (About This Site, or Site Information pages)
Examine for credibility l Credibility may be compromised by purposeful misinformation or unintentional neglect. l Locating the name of the site’s creator may be challenging. l Credentials may be missing even if the author’s name is provided.
Examine for credibility l Who is the author of the site? l What is the authority or expertise of the individual or group? l What else comes up when you type the author’s name into a search engine? l Does the source have a political or business agenda? l Is the site sponsored by a political or business group? What do you know about them?
Assess date of information l Can you find a date identifying when the information was posted? l Can you find a date identifying when the site was created?
Evaluating Electronic Sources: Timeliness l Check the date your source information is published. For some topics (science and technology-related topics, for example) this information is especially important.
Evaluating Electronic Sources: Comprehensiveness l Comprehensiveness is the extent to which a source provides a complete and balanced view of a topic.
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