Web+Research+3



=**Web Research 3 : Using the Web for Research : Part 1**=


 * Aim:**

How do we evaluate our information needs when using the Internet?


 * Common Core State Standards:**


 * CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.7** Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.


 * CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.8** Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.


 * Objectives:**

Students will learn how to evaluate their information needs when searching the Internet.


 * Vocabulary:**


 * Boolean logic
 * browsing
 * directory
 * hierarchy
 * keyword searching
 * meta-search tool
 * parallel search tools
 * phrase searching
 * relevance
 * robot
 * search engine
 * search expression
 * search form
 * search tool
 * spider
 * subject catalog
 * syntax
 * unified search interface


 * Introduction:**

Searching the Web can be challenging and sometimes frustrating. The Web will not always have everything you want, and sometimes the information you want IS on the Web but is difficult to find.

Even though the Web has billions of pages, most published literature is only available in books and periodicals, or fee-based databases.

Librarians can help you determine the best sources to consult for the subject you are researching.


 * Discussion:**


 * The First Step: Evaluating Your Information Needs**

Before you get online and start your search for information, think about what types of material you're looking for. Are you interested in finding facts to support an argument, authoritative opinions, statistics, research reports, descriptions of events, images, or movie reviews? Do you need current information or facts about an event that occurred 20 years ago? When is the Web a smart place to start? Keep in mind that a lot of information is on the Web, but much of it is part of proprietary or commericial services that are subscription-based. Your library may subscribe to a database that will be useful for the subject you are searching for.


 * Some Reasons the WWW Won't Have Everything You Are Looking For**


 * Publishing companies and authors who make make money by creating and providing information usually choose to use the traditional publishing marketplace rather than to make their information for free via the Internet.


 * Scholars most often choose to publish their research in reputable scholarly journals and university presses rather than freely on the Web, although there are some scholars that are publishing their research in open access journals.


 * Several organizations and institutions would like to publish valuable information on the Web, but don't because of a lack of staff or funding.


 * The Web tends to include information that is in demand to a large portion of the public.

By evaluating your goals before starting a research project, you may find that you don't need to use the Internet. You may find out that your library has access to an excellent commercial database that provides exactly what you need. Don't be shy about asking the librarian to help you determine whether the Internet or some other resource will have the most appropriate material to choose from on the topic you are researching.

Once you've decided that the Web is likely to have the information you are seeking, you'll need to choose an appropriate **search tool**.


 * A Checklist to Help You Choose the Right Tool**

Search engines and meta-search tools should be consulted when looking for the following:


 * Obscure information
 * Multifaceted topics
 * A large amount of information on a particular topic from different perspectives

Search engines and meta-search tools should not be used to find the following:


 * News that happened yesterday or even last week. You'd be better off going to a specialized database that is updated daily or weekly.
 * Information in a particular form, such as journal or newspaper articles. You'd be better off searching a specialized database that focuses on the format.
 * Someone's telephone number or email address. Certain services focus specifically on this type of information.
 * Maps. There are special databases for maps, too.

Directories are most useful for the following:


 * An overview of the topic
 * Evaluated resources
 * Facts such as population statistics or country information
 * A specialized database for specific or very recent information.

Search engines are tools that use computer programs called **spiders** or **robots** that traverse the Internet and locate hyperlinks available to the public. These spiders or robtos load these resources in a datase, which you can then search by using a search engine. Each of the major search engines attempts to do the same thing - namely, index as much of the entire Web as possible - so they handle a huge amount of data.

There are advantages to computer-generated databases. They are frequently updated, give access to very large collections, and provide the most comprehensive search results. If you are looking for a specific concept or phrase, a search engine is the best place to start. And you would be smart to look in more than one, because each engine gives different results.

Here are the major search engines:


 * Google
 * Ask
 * Yahoo!
 * Bing


 * Search Engine Similarities**

All major search engines are similar in that you enter keywords, phrases, or proper names in a **search form**. After you click on **Search, Submit, Seek**, or some other similar command button, the database returns a collection of hyperlinks to your screen. The database usually lists them according to their **relevance** to the keyword(s) you typed in, from most to least relevant. Search engines determine relevance in different ways. Generally, they base this determination on how many times the search terms appear in the document. Other search tools (Google, for example) rank results by the number of other Web pages that link to them, or by the most popular sites that others have chosen in the past.

All search engines have online help to acquaint you with their search options. Two common search options that most search engines support are **Boolean logic** and **phrase searching**.


 * Boolean Logic**

The Boolean operators are AND, OR, and NOT


 * hiking AND camping**


 * The use of AND place between keywords in your **search expression** will narrow the search results. For example, hiking AND camping would narrow your search so that you would receive only those sites that have both the words //hiking// and //camping// in them. The major search engines assume and AND between two words, so there is no need to type AND.


 * hiking OR camping**


 * Placing an OR between keywords broadens your search results. For example, hiking OR camping would retrieve those sites that have either the word hiking or the word camping in them. The major search engines support the OR operator - but it must be capitalized.


 * hiking NOT camping**


 * The NOT operator will also narrow the search. Many search engines allow you to use a minus sign (-) before the word or phrase that is not wanted. For example, hiking NOT camping, or hiking -camping would narrow your search so you would get all hiking that did not include camping.


 * Phrase Searching**

Searching by phrase guarantees that the words you type in will appear adjacent to each other, in the order you typed them. Let's say you are searching for information on global warming. If you typed in the two words //globall warming// separated by a space, the search engine you're using will assume that you are in effect saying global AND warming. In the last case, your search results would not be very precise because the words //globall/ and// warming// could appear separately from each other throughout the document.

Most search engine support phrase searching, requiring the use of double quotation marks around the phrase, like this:


 * "global warming"**

As search engines have improved their relevancy ranking algorithms, using the phrase searching feature has become less important. Usually search engines will automatically put words together that are often search as a phrase. It becomes more important when you need to have two words together in a particular order and it may not be readily apparent that they belong together; for example, a person's name, quotation, or a line of poetry containing several words.


 * Search Engine Differences**

The major search engines differ in the following ways:


 * Size of the index
 * Search options(many search engines support the same options but require you to use different **syntax** in order to initiate them)
 * Ranking of the search results
 * Special features such as the ability to search for news, newsgroups, images, and so forth. It is important to know these differences because in order to do an exhaustive search of the WWW, you must be familiar with the different search tools. You cannot rely on a single search engine to satisfy your query. While Google is often cited as the best search engine currently available, it is always a good idea to try your search in Yahoo! of Ask.com to make sure you retrieve the most relevant results possible.


 * In-Class Activity:**

1) Create a new page on your wiki and name it Web Research 2. You will write all your answers on this page.

2) I want you to continue to either think about a topic you'd like to research, or to visit Web sites related to something you are learning in school.

3) In this activity we are going to search for information on the current trends and opportunities inherent in the pet grooming business. We have read some articles in the newspaper about mobile pet grooming companies, and that is of some interest to use because we would like to work out of the home. We are intrigued with the idea of going to peoples homes and grooming animals in a vehicale that is equipped with the equipment and supplies we need. We have also heard of several franchise opportunities in this field, but we don't want to buy a franchise. With Boolean logic we can exclude that term, and we can OR keywords together. Google supports Boolean logic in the general search mode, but it's much easier to go to is Advanced Search mode and do the search there. Let's see how it works. Go to @http://www.google.com/advanced_search.

4) Type **mobile** in the **all these words** box

5) Type **pet grooming business** in the **this exact wording or phrase** box.

6) Type **trends** and then **opportunity** in the **one or more of these words** box.

7) Type **franchise** in the **any of these unwanted words** box.

8) Click on **Advanced Search**.

9) Note that the keywords you typed in the Advanced Search mode appear in the search form at the top of the page. This is the search expression you would have typed in using the general search mode.

10) Examine the search results. Open a few of the Web sites that appear on the first page. Do any of them look useful? If you like any of them, you can bookmark them or add them to your favorites. Not that you can also try other search options in Google's Advanced Search mode, such as limiting by domain. Perhaps you'd like to retrieve only those sites that have been produced by U.S. government agencies. To do this, you would type **.gov** in the box next to **Search within a site or domain**. You could also limit your results to a particular file type, for example, **.pdf** or Power Point presentations (**.ppt**) in the box next to **File type**.


 * Homework:**

1. Go to Google and search fore information about Nilo Cruz, the Pulitzer Prize winning playwright. How many results did you obtain? What play of his won the Pulitzer Prize? Give the URL of the site that includes this information.

2. Using Ask.com at http://ask.com, look for Dadaism. Find a page that gives a definition of the term. Give both the definition and the URL of the site where you found it.

3. Here's a little exercise on the importance of phrase searching:

a. Go to Google and type the words **bats in your belfry** into the search box. How many results did you find? Look at the first page of results. Are they relevant to your search for that phrase? Now go back and add quotation marks around the phrase. How many results did you obtain this time? b. Now suppose you are looking for historical information about the medieval Norsemen and their battles. Go to Yahoo! at http://yahoo.com. You are looking for a place called the Kirk of Skulls. Type the words **Kirk of Skulls** in at Yahoo! How many results do you find? Now add the quotation marks around the phrase. How many results did you find? Did you find your answer? Where is the site located?

4. Our look at how communication has changed over the years has brought us to the era of illuminated manuscripts. Go to Google at http://google.com and look for information about them. Will you use a phrase search? How many results do you obtain? Click on some of the results and give the title and URL of a site that gives good information about the history and making of these manuscripts.

5. Using the Open Directory Project at http://dmoz.org, find a list of resources available on children's nutrition by browsing the directory. Give the title, URL, and a brief description of each of the three most relevant sites you find.

6. Using Yahoo!'s directory at http://dir.yahoo.com, look for information about the Great Depression. Choose four sites to visit and compare the range of information you find at each one. Would you, too, recommend these sites? Give the title and URL of the site you think is the best, and explain why you like it.

7. Suppose you collect comic books as a hobby and are interested in finding Web sites about them.

a. Try browsing through LibrarySpot's directory at http://www.libraryspot.com. How do you like the way this directory is set up? What categories did you browse to find your topic? Is this directory searchable by keyword? b. Look for the same subject in the Yahoo! Directory at http://dir.yahoo.com. In what category was your topic found here? Is this directory searchable by keyword? c. Did you prefer one directory over the other for this topic? Why?

8. Go to the Internet Public Library at http://www.ipl2.org and browse the categories to find resources about the performing arts. Under what category did you find the topic? What other subtopics are listed under Performing Arts?

9. Go back to the Internet Public Library at http://www.ipl2.org and, using the Search feature, look for sites about the following topics. How many do you find? Go to one site for each topic and describe what is available there.

a. Motorcycles b. RSS c. Cosmology


 * Summary Activity:**

3-2-1

Name 3 new things you learned from the lesson.

Name 2 areas in which you are still confused.

Name 1 way you might apply what you've learned to another area.


 * Source:**

Hartman, K. and Ackerman, E. (2010). //Searching and researching on the Internet and the World Wide Web//. Sherwood, OR: Franklin, Beedle & Associates.