Web+Research+8



=**Web Research 8 : A Researcher's Toolkit**=


 * Aim:**

What sort of toolkit can we amass to help us with our Internet research?


 * 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 about some toolkits to use to help them with their Internet Research.


 * Vocabulary:**


 * annotation
 * reference work
 * specialized database
 * subject guide
 * wiki


 * Introduction:**


 * Directories Revisited**

Directories are topical lists of Internet resources arranged in a hierarchical way.

Although they are organized by subject, directories can also be searched by keyword.

They differ from search engines in one major way - the human element involved in collecting and maintaining the information.

Directories are created and maintained by people, whereas search engines rely on spiders or robots to crawl the Internet for links.

There are a number of differences between directories.

One way to determine directories' particular characteristics is to ask the following questions about each of them:


 * Who selects the included Web resources - directory administrators of people in the Internet community?
 * Who categorizes the Web pages and sites - the people who submit them or directory administrators?
 * How are the results displayed - alphabetically, by relevance, or by type of Web page?
 * Are the resources rated? Are they annotated? Are they reviewed?

Each directory differs from others mainly in the level of quality control involved in its management. For example, some directory managers have very little control over their collections, relying on Web page submitters to provide annotations and decisions about where their resources should be place in the directory's hierarchy.

Other directory managers are much more selective not only about which resources they include, but also about where in the subject hierarchy the pages will be located.

Some directory editors write detailed **annotations** of the pages. These annotations can be evaluative, descriptive, or both. Annotations are Web site descriptions that either the Web page submitter or the directory editor attaches to the Web sites.


 * Strengths of Directories:**

The major advantages of using directories are as follows:


 * Directories contain fewer resources than search engine databases.
 * Many directories rate, annotate, or categorize chosen resources.
 * Directories increase the probability of retrieving relevant results.


 * Weakness of Directories:**

There are three major disadvantages inherent in WWW directories. They are as follows:


 * Arbitrary hierarchical arrangements
 * Infrequent updates
 * Subjectivity of rating and annotating resources


 * Reference Works**

Another common type of resource collected by directories is a reference work. A **reference work** is a full-text document with self-contained information. In other words, it doesn't necessarily contain hyperlinks to other resources.

A reference work on the WWW is very similar to its print counterpart. The only difference is that it would allow you to move around the document using hyperlinks instead of turning pages and looking in the index for related topics.

There are encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, directories, and many other types of references works on the WWW.


 * Specialized Databases**

Directories can be useful for finding **specialized databases** as well.

A specialized database is an index that catalogs certain material, such as patent information, medical journal article citations, company financial data, court decisions, and so forth.

Specialized databases can usually be searched by keyword.

PubMed is an example of a specialized database of Medline citations provided by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.


 * Discussion:**


 * Wikipedia**

Wikipedia is a collaborative encyclopedia with millions of entries on a wide variety of topics. The word //Wikipedia// is a combination of the words **wiki** and encyclopedia. It is written by contributors from over 85 thousand people from all over the world, and is available in more than 260 languages. Wikipedia is written with wiki software, where one or more people write and edit documents collaboratively. Wikipedia, with its self-policing nature, strives to be objective. Volunteer fact checkers are constantly editing and removing incorrect content.


 * Searching Wikipedia**

When you do a search in Google or some other search engine, Wikipedia entries on that topic very often appear very high on the results list. You can also search Wikipedia directly.


 * Google Books**

Google Books is an ongoing project between Google, several university libraries, both in the United States and abroad, and book publishers.

What Google has done is scan thousands of books and make them searchable by keyword. If the book is not under copyright restriction, then a researcher can read the entire book online. If the book is still under copyright, a person can read parts of the book if the publisher agrees to it.


 * Google Scholar**

Google Scholar is another Google project that is proving to be very useful for academic researchers. Google Scholar lets you search for scholarly literature in many disciplines and sources. You can use it to locate peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, articles, and abstracts from academic publishers, professional societies, universities, and other organizations. It helps you find the most relevant and important research that has been done on thousands of scholarly topics.

One of the most useful features of Google Scholar is showing the researcher how many other publications have cited a particular article, paper, book, or any other type of resource. For example, if we did a broad search on the topic of global warming, we could find the most important articles written on this topic and also read other articles that have cited a particular article.


 * In-Class Activity:**


 * Activity 1:**

Let's say you don't know much about doing international business research and you don't know where to start. A subject guide on international business might be exactly what you need.

For this activity, we will be using the Internet Public Library, a directory run by several universities with graduate programs in library science. Every site included in the Internet Public Library has been chosen and evaluated by a librarian or a graduate student.

1) Go to the Internet Public Library. Click 2) Click on the link **Resources by Subject**. 3) Click on the top-level category **Business & Economics**. 4) Take a look at the subcategories listed under **Business & Economics**. The most promising link is **International Business.** Click on that category and see what's available. There are several promising sites, but one that looks particularly useful is International Business Center (CIBER), a guide to international business published by Michigan State University. 5) Note the magnifying glass icon next to the title of the site. If you click on this icon, you will be able to view the metadata assigned to this record. The metadata indicates the subjects assigned to this Web site. It also gives a brief description of the contents of the site, the publisher, the language, and the URL. You can access the actual Web site from this window. Let's take a look at it. 6) Click on the URL for the International Business Center. Of particular interest is globalEDGE, a site within CIBER, which features country profiles containing business climate, history and politics, and statistics. There are also market indicators and a directory of academic research resources. 7) Now we're going to search the Internet Public Library by keyword. Return to the Internet Public Library and in the search box, type "international business." It's important to put the words in quotation marks because your search results will be much more precise. Searching the Internet Public Library for international business results in over thirty more resources that weren't listed in the directory. Let's take a look. One of the resources, International Business Times**,** looks particularly useful. Click on the magnifying glass icon to view the metadata. The metadata can help you decide whether you want to access this site or not.

This activity showed how useful a directory can be. It's a good idea to browse a directory and search it by keyword in order to retrieve all relevant resources.


 * Activity 2:**

1) Go to Google Books. Note that you can browse the Google Books collection by clicking on any of the links on the left side of the window. You can also click on any of the book covers. The book covers show change each time you access the database. 2) For this example, we'll choose //Up from Slavery//, by Booker T. Washington. Since this book is not longer under copyright restriction, the entire book is available free to read in its entirety. There are many things you can do at this point. You can go through the book page by page. You can download it to read on an ereader. 3) Now let's say you've heard of the book //Team of Rivals: the political genius of Abraham Lincoln//, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. You want to know more about the book, perhaps read some reviews, and if possible, read the introduction to the book and possibly the table of contents or index. Type "team of rivals" in the search form. Because //Team of Rivals// is a recent book (published in 2006), it is still under copyright restriction. Therefore, we won't be able to read the entire book here. But depending on the edition and the publisher providing that edition, there may be a limited preview to the book's contents. //Hint:// If the edition you're looking at doesn't have many scanned pages in its preview, click on **More editions -** there may be another addition that has provided more pages for preview.


 * Activity 3:**

1) Go to Google Scholar and type in "global warming." Look for the article called "Fingerprints of global warming on wild animals and plants" from 2003 from the journal //Nature//. Notice that it has been cited by over 2000 other articles. 2) Click on the title of the article to find out more about it. If it is in the public domain, you'd be able to read it for free on the Web. 3) To find other articles that have cited it, we click on the first link under the annotation - Cited by 2360. The first article listed is available in its entirety by clicking on the title. An article marked [PDF] will be available in its entirety. 4) Note that you can also click on **Related Articles** to read similar articles on the topic. You can also search Google Scholar by author.


 * Homework:**

1. It's helpful to learn more about a directory before deciding whether it fits your needs. A good way to start is to look at that small print at the site's home page. See if you can find selection criteria for sites to be included at the following directories and describe how the criteria differ.

a. Yahoo! at http://dir.yahoo.com b. Intute at http://www.intute.ac.uk c. Open Directory Project at http://dmoz.org d. Internet Public Library at http://www.ipl2.org

2. Let's compare two resources for the same topic:

a. Using the Open Directory Project at http://dmoz.org, browse through the categories to find information on the subject of immigration. In what category did you find it? Now search the directory for the topic. How many results did you find? How do they compare to your results from browsing? Which method worked better for the topic? b. Now go to the Internet Public Library at http://www.ipl2.org. Browse this directory for the topic of immigration. How many sites are included here? Can you find a subject guide? c. For this topic, did you find the Open Directory Project or the Internet Public Library more helpful. Why?

3. See if you can


 * Summary:**

Every good researcher should have a toolkit of resources for their everyday information needs.

Directories, topical lists of Internet resources arranged hierarchically to facilitate browsing by subject, can provide many of the most important tools.

Most directories have a search capability, which can help you avoid occasionally becoming lost in arbitrary subject categories.

Directories depend on the work of individuals who collect, categorize, maintain, and in many cases, evaluate Web sites to make it easier for people to find what they are looking for.

Directories vary in how they are organized which sites get to be evaluated, and, if they are, what criteria are used.

Because directories rely on people for their selections and maintenance, they are necessarily much smaller than the databases that search-engine spiders or robots create.

This difference can be an asset in some cases and a detriment in others.

When you are looking for a "few good sites" to start with, a directory can save you time, especially if your subject is broad and you're at the beginning of your research.

It is a good idea to know how to use the different directories covered in this lesson and to explore others.

Keep one of two on your favorites list so you can find them quickly.

Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, is becoming an important resource tool for scholars.

Because it is dependent upon the general public for its content, it is important to critically evaluate the information found there.

Also important to researchers are some of the special resources that Google provides, such as Google Books and Google Scholar.

This lesson gave a brief overview on how to use these resources, with links to several other useful tools.


 * 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.


 * Homework:**

1. It's helpful to learn more about a directory before deciding whether it fits your needs. A good way to start is to look at that small print at the site's home page. See if you can find selection criteria for sites to be included at the following directories and describe how the criteria differ.

a. Yahoo!, http://dire.yahoo.com b. Intute, http://www.intute.ac.uk c. Open Directory Project, http://dmoz.org d. Internet Public Library, http://www.ipl2.org

2. Let's compare two resources for the same topic:

a. Using the Open Directory Project at http://dmoz.org, browse through the categories to find information on the subject of immigration. In what category did you find it? Now search the directory for the topic. How many results did you find? How do they compare to your results from browsing? Which methods worked better for the topic? b. Now go to the Internet Public Library, http://www.ipl2.org. Browse this directory for the topic of immigration. How many sites are included here? Can you find a subject guide? c. For this topic, did you find the Open Directory Project of the Internet Public Library more helpful?

3. See if you can find Moroccan recipes by browsing the Open Directory Project at http://dmoz.org. Write down the categories and subcategories you chose as you browsed. Print a recipe for couscous.

4. One of the remarkable aspects of Google Books is the ability to obtain full texts of literary works. Find the full text of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet by using Google Books at http://books.google.com. When you find the play, click on **About This Book**. Find the most popular passages in the play and write one of them down.

5. Now find a work that's not in English. Go to the Open Directory Project at http://dmoz.org. Find the full text of St. augustine's Confessions in Latin by performing a keyword search in the directory. Describe how the search results are presented. Give the URL of a site where the Latin text of the Confessions is located.

6. Go to the Internet Public Library at http://www.ipl2.org. See if you can find information about Internet filtering in public libraries. How did you find it? How many Web sites did you find? Go to one of them and describe what Internet filtering is. Give the URL of the site you used. Now use Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page and look for the same topic. Did you find information on Internet filtering in public libraries? What was the title of the most relevant entry that you found?

7. Aromatherapy is a fast-growing aspect of alternative medicine.

a. Does Intute, http://www.instute.ac.uk list any resources about the topic? b. Go to the Yahoo! direcotry at http://dir.yahoo.com and look for aromatherapy. How many resources did you find at this directory? What categories did you browse to find them? Go to one of the sites listed, find out what aromatherapy is, and give a definition and the URL of the page you visited.

8. Go to Google Scholar at http://scholar.google.com and search to see what you can find about Johannes Gutenberg and the invention of the printing press. How did you find the information? Click on some resources that cite the first resource on your list. Write down one article or book that cites the publication you found.


 * Source:**

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