Internet & Library Research

1. Internet & Library Research

2. What is your purpose? • What kind of research are you looking to do? • General Interests (sports, cooking, drawing, etc). • Career and college research • Subject/historical research (art, Civil War, Rosa Parks, etc).

3. Internet Research Pros & Cons Pros: Cons: Easy access to the most up-to-date information Fast access to a wide variety of information and resources at your convenience Minimal effort (if you are in front of a computer) to get the information you need You can easily search sub-topics with a simple click. You can search for key words to fasten your search for what you are looking for. Many sources, but also many authors. It is harder to pinpoint authorship and legitimacy of source. Information is not always accurate; anyone can start their own webpage Too much information can be overwhelming. “Civil War” search can give you 1000s of hits, but in a library, there are only so many books on the topic. Does not always offer in-depth information on specific topics.

4. Library Research Pros & Cons Pros: Cons: Legitimacy of sources and authorship is clear and easy to find. Most sources are primary or secondary sources. Accuracy of information is not endemic as it is on the web (although this depends how updated your library is). Information can be more manageable then on the web, meaning fewer in-depth books on certain topics rather than 1000s of webpages that you have to sort through. Librarians are there to help you with research if needed. Information provided on topics tend to be more in-depth then online. Libraries vary in quality. Some have many resources, others have much less. This might limit your research. Information might be out of date. More work to search for sub-topics (you might need to look for another book rather than click on a link). More reading and shifting through books to get the information you need rather than clicking on links. You can’t search for key words that will take you to a certain page.

5. Internet Research Tips • 1. Use several search tools. Not all search engines are created equal. Google might find content that Yahoo will not. • 2. Read the search tips or help information at each search engine. This will help you how to restrict or expand searches, and how to use the site more efficiently. • For example, search engines will allow the use of quotation marks to create an exact phrase search, a plus sign to indicate a word that must occur to yield a hit page, and a minus sign to exclude pages that include the word. By combining these items, you can create a very powerful and specific search: “Martin Luther King"+ family tells the engine to search for the exact phrase Martin Luther King (rather than just the three words anywhere in the document, on pages that must include the term family.

6. Internet Research Tips • 3. For keyword searches, use several words. If you type in a general topic word as if you were looking through a card catalog, you are likely to receive tens or even hundreds of thousands of hits. • A search for “war” for example, will return more than 20,000 hits from one engine. You might try a search on “causes of Civil War" or something similar. • 4. Think about what you want. What are you looking for? Facts, opinions (anyone's opinion or an expert's), statistics, narratives of personal experience, eyewitness descriptions, new ideas, proven solutions, reference material? Knowing this will help you narrow your search. • 5. Know your sources. Not all information on the web is accurate.

7. Knowing Your Sources • What domain is it? • .com: can belong to anyone • .org/net: belongs to a non-profit organization • .edu: belongs to an educational institution • .gov/mil/us: belongs to and affiliated with the government • non-US________ • Authorship: who wrote this? • Look at the author’s credential. What are the institutional affiliation, publishing records, etc. A history professor at UCLA writing about the Civil War is a good bet that she knows what she’s talking about.

8. Knowing Your Sources… • Publisher: which company or organization published it? • Blog: anyone can have one means less credible information • University (.edu): it is more restricted and information is filtered for accuracy and quality. • Newspaper: How big is this newspaper, is it local, national, or international. Newspapers are legitimate sources of information, but be careful for biases, especially in the “Op-Ed” section. • Point of View: information is rarely neutral because it is presented through the lens of an individual. Know who’s point of view it is from and what that individual/group’s intentions are. • Authorship and affiliation can direct your in terms with point of view biases. Heritage Foundation is a think-tank with more conservative leanings contrast that with Center for American Progress which produces research that are more progressive leaning.

9. Knowing Your Sources… • Citations: is there a bibliography? • Is the author making references with citations (good) or making references without proof/data/ or references (bad)? • Currency: not money, but time. Is the information up to date? • If you are looking for information on President Obama and your source is from 2006, it will indicate that he is still a Senator and your paper will be out of date. • Double and triple check your facts! • Use multiple sources to make sure the facts align. Caution: the same article found on Google and Yahoo count as the same source!

10. Library Research • What can I find at libraries? • That depends and varies widely on libraries, but for the most part, you can find: • BOOKS (of course!), fiction and non-fiction • Periodicals and journals • Magazines • Encyclopedias • CDs and DVDs • Newspapers • Computers with internet

11. Library Research: Dewey Decimal system • Books in the library are arranged on the shelves according to the Dewey Decimal Classification System .  This system, the most commonly used in school and public libraries. It is divided into ten different broad subject areas, numbered 000 - 999. • Materials which are too general to belong to a specific group (encyclopedias, newspapers, magazines, library science, etc.) are placed in the 000's. • The Ten Main Classes of the "Dewey" System: 000    Generalities 100    Philosophy & Psychology 200    Religion 300    Social Sciences 400    Language 500    Natural Sciences & Mathematics 600    Technology (Applied Sciences including Medicine) 700    The Fine Arts 800    Literature & Rhetoric 900    Geography & HistorySubclasses

12. What if I need something more specific? • Subclasses: The ten main classes are divided up into smaller classes by several sets of subclasses: Example: 500 - Pure Sciences & Mathematics 510        Mathematics 520        Astronomy & allied sciences 530        Physics 540        Chemistry 550        Earth Sciences 560        Paleontology, Paleozoology570        Life Sciences 580        Botanical Sciences 590        Zoological Sciences 

13. Library Research Tips • Know what topics you’re looking for: • There is usually a computer or index catalog that will help you determine where the books with topics you are looking for are. Your librarian can also assist you with this. • Don’t know what topics you’re looking for: • Browse the library, all the topics and information are at your fingertips. Get to know the layout of the library and how the books are organized. Every library is different. • Schedule a time to meet with your librarian to get a tour. This is most helpful if you’ve never been to the library!

14. Internet and Library Research • Both mediums provide you with information about the world! Try both, see which one suits you best. • Good Luck!