A SPEAKER’S GUIDEBOOK 4TH EDITION CHAPTER 10 Using the Internet for Information Gathering

Conducting Internet Research The internet has made it possible for a researcher to locate sources which previously would have been geographically inaccessible or would have taken a long time to receive. Begin your internet research using your campus library portal rather than a popular search engine. Research found from a library database is more likely to be credible than from an independent website.

Types of Internet Information Sources World Wide Web E-mail Web discussion forums Blogs Listservs Newsgroups Real-time communication FTP, gopher, & telnet connections

Virtual Libraries www.vlib.org www.lii.org/search www.ipl.org www.academicinfo.net www.digital-librarian.com www.loc.gov/rr/index.html www.infomine.ucr.edu Your campus library probably has a virtual address as well.

Be a Critical Consumer Search engines cannot determine the credibility or quality of the information. You must do this. When you read information on the internet, spend a few minutes thinking about how your audience will receive this source.

Evaluating Web Sources Determine the authorship and sponsorship of the website. What is the domain, or suffix at the end of the web address? Check for accuracy; when was the web page created or last updated? Is the website, or the quoted references contained on it, credible, reputable, or independent sources?

Unethical Information Distinctions Information is data set in a context for relevance which becomes knowledge and generally considered a fact. Other types of data are not ethical: Propaganda Misinformation Disinformation

Propaganda May be based on false information May be based in fact, but facts are used in a way to provoke a certain response in the audience

Misinformation Refers to something that is not true Internet sources often contain stories, or urban legends, that are fabricated and passed along by people believing these stories to be true.

Disinformation Is the deliberate falsification of information Companies, or other organizations with personal interest in an issue or cause, may be likely to post disinformation on the internet. Some examples are: falsified profit-loss statements or an altered photograph.

Types of Search Engines Search engines index the contents of the Web and make it easier for the user to find information. Individual search engines, such as Google and Yahoo!, compile their own databases. Meta-search engines, such as Metacrawler and Dogpile, scan many individual search engines simultaneously pulling the top, and usually paid listings, from each. Specialized search engines, or vortals, conduct searches in a particular field. Examples of SSE are GoogleScholar, FindArticles, and 24HourScholar.

Subject Directories Are searchable databases of websites organized by categories and topics. Are created and maintained by people, not automatic crawlers like search engines. Help the researcher narrow down the topic and find more relevant sources. Some examples are Open Directory Project at www.dmoz.org, Yahoo! Directory, or Academic Info at www.academicinfo.net.

Basic Search Commands Use quotation marks to find exact phrases. Use boolean operators, words placed between your key words, such as: and, or, and not, to filter out unwanted items. Use plus or minus signs in front of your keywords to include or exclude terms from your search. Field searching, or an advanced search, narrows results by finding closer matches.

Search Using Google

Question If you want to find internet sources on large cats; such as lions and tigers, which boolean operator would yield the best result? A. “large cats” B. large cats not house cats C. cats – domestic D. cats E. lions or tigers

Documenting Internet Sources Be sure to include all relevant information about your internet source in your bibliographic citation in the format required by your instructor: Name of author, editor, or sponsoring organization Publication information of print version Date of posting or last revision Title of document or home page Title of complete work on which the page is based Other relevant information, such as the page number Retrieval date statement URL address

Chapter 10 Key Terms for Review library portal virtual library World Wide Web invisible Web domain tilde (~) information propaganda misinformation disinformation search engine individual search engine meta-search engine specialized search engine subject (Web) directory paid placement paid inclusion field searching