Transcript internetpresentation.. - Department of Library Services

What is the Internet?

It is the world-wide distributed network of
computers
 It has no central control - works through the
cooperation of network administrators
Benefits of using Internet

Communication locally / internationally faster
and more cost effective
 Long distance telephone charges eliminated
by using e-mail
 Creates better informed staff/students with
access to resources not otherwise available
 Good for advertising services / facilities
offered by institutions/companies
Bookmarks / Favourites

Bookmark your favourite URL’s for
direct access with only a click
Search Engines

Search engines help you to sort through the
masses of information on the WEB

Major search engines are: Google, Yahoo,
HotBot
Which search engine is the
biggest / best?

Search engines are constantly evolving :
competition is fierce
 Some handle boolean queries better e.g.
Yahoo, MSN, Gigablast.
 Some better on relevance ranking e.g.
Google
 Some more user friendly e.g. Ask Jeeves but results not as good as larger search
engines
Comparing search engines


Very few standards in place
Each search engine has own way of dealing with:
– Boolean logic
– Truncation
– Phrase searching
– Case sensitivity
– Sorting by: date, site, categories, etc
– Use HELP files
• This website is periodically updated and
groups the search engines by size
• Also compares search features
• By clicking on “Review” a complete
update of search engine is provided
Information on
Strengths,
Weaknesses,
Features, etc
General search
requesting 4 terms to
be present
1650 websites
retrieved!
Narrow search by using
the “Advanced Search”
Now only 17
websites retrieved
Click on “Images”
and type in search
term for pictures
Click on “News” for up-todate general news
For “Health News”
click on “Health”
Use Google Scholar for more
academic information
Most hits are journal articles
Can also do
an advanced
search
Advanced search
Google Scholar
Retrieves more relevant and peerreviewed documents
 Any articles from ejournals to which the
University Library subscribes will be
available in full text on-campus only

You can access Google Scholar from
the Library Web page
Quality

How up-to-date are the links?
 Is the resource full text?
 Is the Internet version of resource current, e.g.
dictionaries
 How comprehensive is this site?
 Is the resource available from or pointed to by
multiple Internet sites?
 Who is the author or producer?
 Was content developed by an academic
institution/commercial enterprise with established
reputation?
Quality (cont)

Does resource stay current through regular updates
or demonstrate on-going maintenance
Was the content peer-reviewed by experts in field?
 What are dates of coverage ?
 Is any sort of bias evident?
 When was the Web item produced?
 When was the Web item last revised?
 Is contact information for author/producer included?
Conclusion

The Internet is a rich source of information,
which can be used to great advantage.
However, because there is no control over
the material that is placed on the Internet,
evaluate any information very carefully.

Main method of retrieving peer reviewed
academic information is from computerized
databases. e.g. Medline