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Library and Internet Research

Library and Internet Research. Integrating Library & Internet Research. Library and Internet sources are closely connected You can use the Internet to access many of the library’s resources: Book catalog Periodical index Electronic databases (subscription services). Library Research.

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Library and Internet Research

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  1. Library and Internet Research

  2. Integrating Library & Internet Research • Library and Internet sources are closely connected • You can use the Internet to access many of the library’s resources: • Book catalog • Periodical index • Electronic databases (subscription services)

  3. Library Research • Get a library card! This will allow you to access all the libraries within the SNAP system (Solano-Napa Library System) • It also grants access to electronic databases that are only available through a subscription. • www.napavalley.edu

  4. Electronic Databases • This describes a wide range of databases available to you through the library, including the online catalog. • You can also access thousands of articles through one of the indexes the NVC Library subscribes to. • These subscription databases are useful for several reasons

  5. Electronic Databases • The electronic subscription databases list publication information for articles. • Some databases also list the full text of the article, which you can email or fax to your own computer • These databases ONLY list sources that are reputable and trustworthy.

  6. 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. • 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.

  7. Taking Notes • Photocopy your sources and annotate them • Take notes by paraphrasing, summarizing and quoting useful material. • Make sure you include the page numbers for all paraphrases, summaries and quotations. • Place ALL quotations in quotation marks

  8. Internet Research • 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.

  9. Why do we need to evaluate sources? • Virtually anyone can publish anything on the internet. • Unlike most print sources, web sources do not have to be professionally accepted and edited to be published.

  10. Search Sites: Many Types! • Search engines • Web directories • Deep Web Search Sites & Directories • Meta Search Sites • News Search Sites • Reference Search Sites • Government Search Sites & directories • Blog Search Sites • Social Network Search Sites

  11. Web Search Engines • When you use a Web search engine, you obtain info about Web pages & other forms of info on the Internet, including: • PDF files • PowerPoint files • Word files • Blogs • Newsgroups

  12. Leading Web Search Engines • Alltheweb: alltheweb.com • AltaVista: altavista.com • Ask: ask.com • Excite: excite.com • Gigablast: gigablast.com • Google: google.com • Live Search live.com

  13. Keep in mind • Most search engines index a small portion of the Web (5-50%). • Use more than one search engine to search the Web.

  14. Web Directories • Unlike Web search sites, Web directories employ human editors to organize information about Web pages into categories. • 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.

  15. Leading Web Directories • About.com about.com • Best of the Web: botw.org • Google Directory: google.com/dirhp • Hoppa: hoppa.com • InfoMine: infomine.ucr.edu • Internet Public Library: ipl.org • JoeAnt: joeant.com

  16. Leading Web Directories • Librarians Internet Index: lii.org • Open Directory Project: dmoz.org • Web World: webworldindex.com • WWW Virtual Library: vlib.org • Yahoo! Directory: dir.yahoo.com

  17. Deep Web Search Sites and Directories • Many specialized topics are addressed through database-supported Web sites that are not indexed by conventional Web search sites. • These sites are called the Deep Web, or the Invisible Web because they are not easily found.

  18. Deep Web Search Sites & Directories • Academic Info: • academicinfo.net • Complete Planet: aip.completeplanet.com • Direct Search: • freepint.com/gary/direct.htm • Turbo10.com: • turbo10.com

  19. Meta Search Sites • These sites allow you to conduct a search on several Web search engines or directories at the same time. • These sites typically search the major search engines and directories and then present a limited number of results on a single page.

  20. Meta Search Sites • Clusty: clusty.com • Dogpile: dogpile.com • Ixquick: ixquick.com • Kartoo: kartoo.com • Mamma: mamma.com • Metacrawler: metacrawler.com • Zuula: zuula.com

  21. News Search Sites • AlltheWeb News: alltheweb.com/?cat=news • Alta Vista News: altavista.com/news • Ask News: news.ask.com • Google News: news.google.com • RocketInfo.com: rocketnews.com • World News: wn.com

  22. Reference Search Sites • These sites help you find information that has been collected in encyclopedias, almanacs, atlases, dictionaries, and other reference resources.

  23. Reference Search Sites • Bartleby.com Reference: bartleby.com/reference • Encyclopedia.com: encyclopedia.com • Encyclopedia Brittanica Online: britannica.com • Information Please: infoplease.com • MSN Encarta: encarta.msn.com

  24. Government Documents: Search Sites and Directories • These sites allow you find information provided by government agencies and institutions.

  25. Some Government Database Sites and Directories • About.com’s U.S. Government Information Directory: usgovinfo.about.com • FedStats: fedtstats.gov • FedWorld: fedworld.gov • Google U.S. Government Search: google.com/ig/usgov

  26. Some Government Database Sites and Directories • Government Printing Office Access: gpoaccess.gov • GovSpot.com: gpoaccess.gov • SearchGov.com: searchgov.com • State and Local Government Directory: statelocalgov.net • USA.gov: usa.gov

  27. Search with Keywords and Phrases • Use words like AND or OR to limit your search and get more specific information. • Check out www.searchenginewatch.com for great information on how to limit or expand internet searches.

  28. Evaluating a source means evaluating its: Relevance Evidence Author Credibility Timeliness Comprehensiveness Accuracy Evaluating Electronic Sources

  29. Relevance is the extent to which a source provides information you can use in your project. Determine whether the information in a source will help you accomplish your purpose. Evaluating Electronic Sources: Relevance

  30. Evaluating Electronic Sources: Evidence • Is enough evidence offered? • Is the right kind of evidence offered? • Is the evidence used ethically? • Is the evidence convincing? • Is the source of the evidence provided?

  31. Evaluating Electronic Sources: Author • Is the author knowledgeable about the topic? • What is the author’s affiliation? • How do the author’s biases affect the information, ideas, and arguments?

  32. Identify the web site • Who is the creator of the site? • What is the purpose of the site? • Who is the audience of this site? • Can you purchase products at this site? • Is the site affiliated with a business or university? • Does the site list idiosyncratic information about a person or group?

  33. Evaluating Electronic Sources: Credibility • Pay special attention to Websites and Blogs. • Examine the domain: (.edu, .com, etc). • Look for information about the site (About This Site, or Site Information pages)

  34. Examine for credibility • Credibility may be compromised by purposeful misinformation or unintentional neglect. • Locating the name of the site’s creator may be challenging. • Credentials may be missing even if the author’s name is provided.

  35. Examine for credibility • Who is the author of the site? • What is the authority or expertise of the individual or group? • What else comes up when you type the author’s name into a search engine? • Does the source have a political or business agenda? • Is the site sponsored by a political or business group? What do you know about them?

  36. Assess date of information • Can you find a date identifying when the information was posted? • Can you find a date identifying when the site was created?

  37. Evaluating Electronic Sources: Timeliness • Check the date your source information is published. For some topics (science and technology-related topics, for example) this information is especially important.

  38. Evaluating Electronic Sources: Comprehensiveness • Comprehensiveness is the extent to which a source provides a complete and balanced view of a topic.

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