Internet Research Fourth Edition Unit C

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 2 Internet Research: Unit C Browsing Subject Guides

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 3Objectives Understand subject guides Browse a subject guide Search a subject guide Navigate a subject guide

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 4Objectives Tap trailblazer pages Use specialized search engines Understand evaluative criteria Evaluate Web pages

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 5 Understanding Subject Guides Understanding Subject GuidesOrganization Selectivity & smaller size Access methods Annotations Results Display Subject Guide Characteristics:

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 6 Understanding Subject Guides Organization ~ ~ hierarchical ~ ~ general to specific

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 7 TERMS TO USE TERMS TO USEHierarchy ~ ~ a ranked order Drilling down ~ ~ clicking through topics and subtopics to find relevant links

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 8 Understanding Subject Guides Selectivity and small size ~ ~ human indexers ~ ~ trailblazer pages

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 9 Understanding Subject Guides Access methods ~ ~ local search engine ~ ~ topic lists: alphabetical, geographical, chronological, etc.

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 10 Understanding Subject Guides Understanding Subject GuidesAnnotations ~ ~ summary or review of a Web page ~ ~ saves time by pre-evaluating quality

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 11 Understanding Subject Guides Display of results ~ ~ include number of results, annotations, other subject headings ~ ~ subject headings are usually clickable and provide another way to find related links

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 12 Browsing a subject guide Browsing a subject guide Click through a hierarchical topic list Links are chosen as the best sites by guide’s indexers Excellent starting place when you know less about the topic

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 13 CLUES TO USE Distributed subject guides ~ ~ can be uneven in quality/standardization since they are kept on various computers by many contributors. ~ ~ can be very useful since they are usually maintained by subject experts

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 14 CLUES TO USE Information in subject guides can be organized in various ways can be organized in various ways ~ ~ Energy might be under “science” at one guide, under “engineering” at another, and under “technology” at another.

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 15 Searching a Subject Guide Local search engines ~ ~ search their own indexes which include annotations, keywords, and subject headings assigned by indexers

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 16 CLUES TO USE More search engines are providing subject categories for related links More subject guides are providing local search engines as another way to find relevant links on their sites.

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 17 Navigating a Subject Guide Subject guides may provide: ▪ ▪ hierarchical lists of topics ▪ ▪ local search engines ▪ ▪ geographical lists ▪ ▪ alphabetical lists ▪ ▪ lists organized by Dewey Decimal

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 18 TERMS TO USE TERMS TO USE Dewey Decimal Classification ~ ~ a numeric subject classification system used in many libraries ~ ~ organizes knowledge into 10 main subject areas ~ ~ named after its inventor Melville Dewey

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 19 Tapping Trailblazer Pages Trailblazer pages ~ ~ created by scholars, experts, and organizations to organize and provide links to the best Web sites in their field ~ ~ excellent source of reliable Web resources

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 20 Using Specialized Search Engines Specialized search engines ~ ~ combine the best features of both search engines and subject guides ▪ ▪ they search the Web ▪ ▪ limit results according to subject

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 21 Evaluative criteria ~ ~ standards used to determine if a Web site is appropriate for your needs Understanding Evaluative Criteria

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 22 Evaluative Criteria OrganizationAuthorityObjectivity/AccuracyScopeCurrency

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 23 Evaluative Criteria Organization ~ ~ design and function ~ ~ ease of navigation ~ ~ searchable ~ ~ site map and/or help page ~ ~ working buttons and links ~ ~ variety of ways to access material

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 24 Evaluative Criteria Authority ~ ~ author identified ~ ~ author’s credentials identified ~ ~ author contact information ~ ~ author’s publications listed ~ ~ author’s associations listed ~ ~ resources documented

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 25 Evaluative Criteria Objectivity and Accuracy ~ ~ purpose of the site ~ ~ presentation of content (as fact or opinion) ~ ~ publisher, sponsor, or host identified ~ ~ Reviews by other Web sites/articles ~ ~ Author Reviews by other Web sites/articles ~ ~ errors

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 26 Evaluative Criteria Scope ~ ~ explanation of scope of site ~ ~ intended audience ~ ~ publisher, sponsor, or host identified ~ ~ matches needs

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 27 Evaluative Criteria Currency ~ ~ creation or revision date provided ~ ~ matches needs ~ ~ broken links

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 28 Evaluating Web Pages Evaluating Web pages ~ ~ every time you search you must choose which Web pages to include in your research ~ ~ use evaluative criteria to evaluate Web pages

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 29 Searching Effectively Includes: browsing a subject guide searching a subject guide navigating a subject guide using trailblazer pages using specialized search engines understanding evaluative criteria evaluating Web pages

INTERNET RESEARCH End