Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition Unit A

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 2 Internet Research: Unit A Searching the Internet Effectively

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 3Objectives Understand Internet search tools Create an Internet research strategy Identify the right keywords Perform a basic search Add keywords Phrase search Analyze search results Cite online resources

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 4 TERMS TO USE TERMS TO USE World Wide Web ~ ~ an enormous repository of information stored on millions of computers all over the world Internet ~ ~ a vast global network of interconnected smaller networks

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 5 Understanding Internet Search Tools Internet search tools are services used to find information on the Web – –There are four main types of Internet search tools – –Each is better for different searches – –No search tool searches the entire Web

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 6 Four types of search tools: ~ ~ search engines ~ ~ metasearch engines ~ ~ subject guides ~ ~ specialized search tools Understanding Internet Search Tools

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 7 search engines ~ ~ find Web pages containing keywords entered in a search form ~ ~ index the Web with spiders Understanding Internet Search Tools

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 8 TERMS TO USE Keywords ~ ~ describe the major concepts of your search topicSpiders ~ ~ programs that scan the Web indexing pages for search engines

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 9 metasearch engines ~ ~ simultaneously search keywords in multiple search engines Understanding Internet Search Tools

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 10 subject guides ~ ~ offer hierarchical subject categories through which you navigate, or drill down, to increasingly more specific subjects headings Understanding Internet Search Tools

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 11 Subject Guides: – –Broad view of Internet topics – –Arranged by subject – –Hierarchical organization – –Typically handcrafted – –Professional, academic, & commercial Understanding Internet Search Tools

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 12 specialized search tools ~ ~ find Web pages that are invisible to other search tools ~ ~ intelligent search agents query multiple databases simultaneously Understanding Internet Search Tools

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 13 TERMS TO USE TERMS TO USE Deep Web ~ ~ the part of the Web not indexed by spiders; also called the invisible Web; many times the size of the visible Web Intelligent search agents ~ ~ simultaneously search multiple specialized search tools

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 14 Creating an Internet Research Strategy Internet Research Strategy ~ ~ a plan of action to reach your research goals

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 15 Creating an Internet Research Strategy define topic and identify keywords locate needed background information and identify additional keywords choose the proper search tool translate the topic into a search query perform search evaluate results refine the search if necessary

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 16 TERMS TO USE Search query ~ ~ words and symbols which you enter into a search form and which the search tool uses to search its index Search form ~ ~ the place on a search tool’s search page where you enter your query

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 17 Creating an Internet Research Strategy Find background information Define your research topic Identify keywords Choose the proper search tool Translate question into an effective search query Perform your search Evaluate your search results If satisfied with the results, be sure to note the information you will need to cite Web pages later If not satisfied with the results, return to an earlier step in the process to refine the search

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 18 Identifying the Right Keywords Identify Keywords ~ ~ determine which words will best return the results you need

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 19 Identifying the Right Keywords Summarize your topic in a statement Pull potential keywords from the statement Define words & find background information Identify synonyms and related terms

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 20 Synonyms ~ ~ words that have similar meanings Stop words ~ ~ words search tools do not search TERMS TO USE

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 21 Performing a Basic Search Perform a Basic Search ~ ~ enter keywords into a search form and search for relevant links

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 22 Performing a Basic Search Websites change frequently― appearance, design, & even address If a text box or button in the text has changed, look for a similar one If a link indicated in the text is no longer there, tell your instructor

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 23 CLUES TO USE ENTER Most search tools allow you to press ENTER to start a search. Results vary between search engines largely because: ▪ ▪ their spiders search different parts of the Web ▪ ▪ their ranking algorithms for results are different.

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 24 Adding Keywords common mistake made when searching the Internet = using too few keywords to describe a topic

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 25 Adding Keywords using too few keywords to describe a topic = manyirrelevantresults

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 26 most search engines search according to the order in which you place your keywords place your most important keyword first CLUES TO USE

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 27 Phrase Searching Use Phrases ~ ~ search for two or more words in a particular order Phrase searching ~ ~ method of searching to keep your words in the correct order

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 28 Phrase Searching Most search tools understand you want to search for a phrase when you enclose “” keywords in “ quotation marks ”

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 29 Using Phrases If you search for: two keywords: results are required to contain both words anywhere on the page in any order two keywords in quotation marks: results are required to contain this exact phrase (or the words together in this exact order) “solar energy” solar energy

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 30 Use a Phrase When Searching: the name of a person: “Bobby Orr” the name of a place: “Memphis Tennessee” the name of a business/organization/institution: “Course Technology”

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 31 Use a Phrase When Searching: the title of a film/show/recording: “A Hard Day’s Night” the title of a book/newspaper/magazine: “Ball Four” a song/poem when you only know a few words: “you may say I’m a dreamer”

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 32 Analyzing Search Results Analyze Search Results ~ ~ understand clues available on a search results page before clicking links

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 33 Analyze Search Results find keywords in the search results decipher the URL note the ranking of results look for subject directory links look for cached pages navigate between search results pages

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 34 TERMS TO USE URL ~ ~ unique address of a Web site or page; Uniform Resource LocatorAlgorithms ~ ~ mathematical formulas used to rank Web sites according to the terms used in a search query Cached page ~ ~ copy of a Web page on a search engine’s computer

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 35 Citing Online Resources Cite Online Resources ~ ~ use a standardized format to cite the online sources

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 36 Citing Online Resources Cite Resources ~ ~ when you use a standardized citation format, you or anyone reading your work can easily return to the resources you used.

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 37 Citing Online Resources MLA MLA (Modern Language Association) APA APA (American Psychological Association) Two widely accepted citation formats are:

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 38 CLUES TO USE Assume that everything on the Web is copyrighted If you use a fact, quotation, image, or piece of text from the Web, you must cite the source If you do not cite your source, you are guilty of plagiarism

Internet Research – Illustrated, Fourth Edition 39 Searching Effectively Includes: familiarity with search tools understanding citing resources creating a research strategy identifying useful keywords performing basic searches using multiple keywords searching with phrases analyzing search results citing online resources

INTERNET RESEARCH Unit A End