Transcript Internet Research - The Western Hills Mustangs

Internet Research
What’s the big deal?
Can’t I just find everything on Google?
Yes and No
• You can find a lot of things on Google.
BUT…
– Who wants to scroll through pages and
pages of results that may have nothing to
do with your topic/question?
– Who wants to run the risk of finding false or
unreliable information?
So What Do I Do Instead?
1. Use online research databases.
2. Use other Internet search tools such as:
• Subject directories
• Meta search engines
• Other search engines (not just Google)
3. Learn how to use keywords and phrases
to narrow down your search results.
4. Evaluate the websites and information
that you find on the Internet.
What is an Online
Research Database?
• It’s a collection of good, reliable sources of
information that can be accessed through
the Internet.
• It’s like going to an actual library and
looking for scholarly journals, magazines,
newspapers, encyclopedias, and reference
books, but someone has scanned all of
these items and put them in one
place…and you can access them from
your computer.
Where Can I Find Online
Research Databases?
• Not on Google! Only through libraries.
– K-12 school libraries and college/university libraries
have free access to many online research databases
through the State Library of Ohio.
• K-12 can be accessed either from your school library’s website
or at www.infohio.org.
• College/university can be accessed from your school library’s
website or at www.ohiolink.edu.
– The Cincinnati Public library has access to even more
online research databases:
• Go to their home page, click on “Research and Homework,”
then click on “Research Databases” or go directly to:
http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/resources/research.asp
What is a Subject Directory?
• It didn’t take people long to figure out
that there was too much information on
the Internet.
• Subject directories attempt to organize
information on the Internet into subjects,
groups, or categories.
Subject Directories
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Librarians’ Internet Index
Internet Public Library
About
Yahoo Subject Directory
Google Subject Directory
Infomine
Academic Info
Cincinnati Public Library Sites by Subject
What is a Meta Search
Engine?
• Meta search engines search many
different search engines and come up
with a huge list of results.
• I like to call them “Mega” search engines
because you’re doing one-stop
searching. It’s like going to a mall to get
all of your shopping done in one place
rather than driving all over the city to
specialty shops.
Meta Search Engines
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Dogpile
Ithaki
Ixquick
Surfwax
Kartoo (for visual learners)
Vivisimo (clustered results)
Why Use Other Search
Engines?
• Less than half the searchable Web is
fully searchable in Google.
• Getting a second opinion is often worth
your time.
Other Search Engines
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Ask
All the Web
Altavista
Yahoo
Google Scholar (although many of the
articles require a subscription or a fee)
How Do I Get Better Search
Results?
• Try to think of the best 2 or 3 keywords or
phrases that will sum up what you want to
know.
• Brainstorm synonyms.
• Put quotation marks around words or phrases
that need to stay together.
• Use Boolean terms (and, not, or) to narrow or
expand your search.
– For example: use “Bengal tigers” NOT football for
information about the animals but not the team.
Why Do We Need to Evaluate
Information on the Internet?
• Who can publish a website?
– ANYBODY!
• Do they have to be experts who have
gone to school and have PhDs?
– NO!
• Can anyone with access to a computer
publish whatever they want, whether it’s
true, false, or purposely misleading?
– YES!
How Can We Evaluate
Information on the Internet?
• Source
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What are the author’s credentials/qualifications? Is there a bias? What was the
purpose for making the website?
What is the domain of the website?
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.com = commercial site
.gov = government
.net = networked service provider
.org = organization, often non-profit
.mil = military
.edu = education (K-12 as well as colleges/universities)
• Accuracy of the Content
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Are there spelling/grammar errors? Can facts be verified with another source?
• Currency
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When was the website created and when was it last updated?
• Support
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Does the author cite his/her sources in a bibliography?
Can I Use Wikipedia?
• No, not for research.
• Although it claims to be a type of
encyclopedia, anybody can edit the web
pages, making it an unreliable source of
information.
• Most colleges and universities (and many
high schools) do NOT allow students to
use Wikipedia for research.
Can I Copy and Paste?
• No. That’s called plagiarism, and it is wrong,
wrong, wrong.
– Colleges and universities (and many high schools)
have very strict policies about people who
plagiarize. Most of the time it will get you expelled.
• It is easy to copy and paste information you
find on the Internet, but don’t do it.
– Learn how to summarize, paraphrase, and use
quotations properly, and come up with something
you can be proud of.
Speaking of Plagiarism
• Always cite your sources.
• Internet resources (both online databases
and websites) have their own special rules
when it comes to citing them in
bibliographies.
• Find out if your teacher prefers MLA or APA
style and then try to figure out the special
rules.
• Here are some style sheets that I developed
for quick and easy use: MLA APA
Navigating the Internet
• Good luck!
• With these tips and tools, as well as some
critical thinking, you should have success
when researching on the Internet.
• This presentation will be available online
on West High’s library website: http://uhswh.cps-k12.org/WestHigh2/index.htm.
Click on the “Research” tab and check it out!
Prepared and presented by Lara Walker, Library Media Specialist,
Western Hills High School, Cincinnati, OH 45238. All rights reserved © 2007.