1. WISER Science Finding quality information on the internet
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Karen Langdon & Penny Roberts
This session will introduce you to a range of internet search tools and other resources, which give access to different types of information, and show different options for looking at information. We will give you some pointers that will help you assess the quality and reliability of internet resources, and show you how you can find some specialised types of data. We are also going to give you an opportunity to evaluate some websites for yourself and decide if they are reliable.
Example: mobile phone tracking site

2. Web search tools Search engines Web directories Meta search engines
Academic search engines
Portals
Search engines: e.g.
Web directories: e.g.
tools for structural browsing
hierarchical taxonomy
Meta search engines: e.g.
search more than one search engine
more comprehensive coverage
Academic search engines: e.g. Scopus, Scirus, Google Scholar
Portals (gateways): e.g.
added value services

3. Alerts
RSS feeds
Database updates

4. User-generated resources
Blogs
Wikis
Shared information sites
Blogs
Wikis
Shared information sites (open databases, self-publishing sites):

5. Searching for specific types of data
Gene sequences
Deep indexing
captions
tables
illustrations
Gene sequences:
Deep indexing:

6. Evaluating web resources
Reliable
Verifiable
Current
Objective

7. Now try it yourself! Examples to analyse and compare:

8. Feedback
You will get an with the online evaluation form in due course

9. Next session: Conferences
This session will enable you to find out about forthcoming
conferences and also to locate the published papers of
proceedings that have taken place
Thursday, 26 November 2009
James Shaw and Sue Bird