Transcript 2-2-Optimal Usage of Internet Searching

Optimal Usage of Internet
Searching
Part I
Tips on searching
Google
& other such creatures
BIO 102
Spring 2008
Callie Bergeris
Types of Search Tools
►Search
Engines
►Meta-Search Engines
►Directories
You’ve heard it said that information
on the Internet



comes from ANYWHERE
is published by ANYONE
is not screened or peer-reviewed
prior to publication
There is little “quality control” on
the Internet unless….
It’s smart to use more than
one search engine
http://ranking.thumbshots.com/
It’s obvious that you have
to be cautious when looking for academic
and other information on the Internet.
http://www.library.uow.edu.au/helptraining/tutorials/resedge/site1
.html
Search Engine - Definition
► Online
tool which uses a software program known
as a spider to “crawl” the Web and retrieve
information about Web pages which are indexed
by the engine.
► Provides
a search tool which retrieves results
based on a user-defined search query.
► You
are actually searching the engine’s collection
of web pages which it has indexed - not the Web
itself!
More on search engines…
► Indexed
by spiders / entries not reviewed by
humans
► Provide a Higher Quantity of Results vs. Quality
► Powerful Advanced Searching Capabilities
► Search the Full-Text of WebPages
► Very Current - Updated
► Most useful for Specific Queries
Search Engine – a close-up
Google
Largest & Most Popular Search Engine
8 Billion + Pages Indexed
Very Effective Advanced Search Features
Limit searches by domain, ie. Site:edu
Limit searches by format, ie. .pdf,
Specialized Search Tools
Images, Directory, Videos, Books, Scholar,
News, Blogger
A Closer Look
► Google
Scholar (scholarly literature=articles, books)
► Google Books
(books)
► Google Directory (handpicked specific topical sites)
Google aids to use
► AND,
OR, NOT
►
site:gov site:org site:edu
►
►
define:electromagnetic
~food ~facts (food facts and
►
phrase searching “second
hand smoking”
nutrition and cooking information)
Google tips continued
►
►
►
►
►
enrollment site:www.iona.edu
music site:uk
allintitle: organic farming
allinurl: nuclear energy
virus -computer
Google help center
http://www.google.com/support
There is strength in numbers
Do not use Google only
Try two or three other search
engines, such as:




ask.com
yahoo.com (same as search.yahoo)
scholar.google.com
alltheweb.com
Scirus
A search engine solely for scientific
information:
www.scirus.com
Indexes science-oriented web pages as
well as journal article citations
Subscription necessary for full-text of
many articles
167 million science-related web pages
Research and academic focus
Search Tips - Before the Search
► Refine
and clarify topic
-Browse directory and books
► Make
► Think
keyword list
about which resources would most
likely have information relevant to your topic
Search Tips continued
► Do
phrase searching
► Use
combinations
“origin of species” –darwin
► Place
most important words first in the
search string
► Might
need to use uncommon words
Meta-Search Engines
A meta-search engine searches the
collections of multiple single search engines
simultaneously, retrieving the top results
from each. They do not sustain an index of
their own.
Meta-Search Engine Characteristics
► Most
return the top 5 or 10 results from each
engine
► No advanced searching capabilities
► Many don’t allow Boolean or phrase searching
► Less precise than single search engines
► Some don’t search Google
► Useful in finding which engine covers topic best
► Useful in finding what information may be
available on a topic
More about meta-search engines
► Do
not crawl the web themselves to build
databases of Web pages like search engines do;
they send your search terms or queries to
several search engines at once and display the
top results together on a single page.
► As
good as the quality of the search engine
databases they obtain results from.
Try these meta-search engines
►
www.dogpile.com
►
www.mamma.com
►
http://www.jux2.com/
►
www.zuula.com
►
www.graball.com
You can also use Directories
A directory (often called a subject
directory) is a collection of indexed
web pages hierarchically organized into
browsable categories by humans.
Directories - Characteristics
► Indexed
by human editors
► Provide higher quality vs. quantity
Typically Much Smaller than Search Engines
► Entries
are usually annotated
► They don’t search the full-text of web pages
as search engines do
► Both commercial & non-commercial
directories
Directories—when to use
► Useful
When You Have a Broad Topic
Can help narrow focus
► Useful
at Start of Research to Define
Relevant Key Words
► Useful to Observe What Information is
Available on a Topic
Directories - Examples
► Open
Directory Project
 http://dmoz.org
► Librarian’s
Internet
Index to the
 http://www.lii.org
► Infomine
 http://infomine.ucr.edu
►Academic
Info
 http://www.academicinfo.
net
►Yahoo!
http://dir.yahoo.com
►Resource
Discovery
Network
http://www.rdn.ac.uk/
A good web page with a table of
general directories to use can be
found at
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/Teac
hingLib/Guides/Internet/SubjDire
ctories.html
Library Resources for Internet
Searching
How do I get there?
http://www.iona.edu/library/
Search Tools Summary
► Search
Engines - Search a collection of
indexed web pages
► Meta-Search
Engines - Search multiple
search engines simultaneously
► Directories - Provide a collection of
indexed web pages arranged in categories
► Specialized Resources - Dedicated to
One Subject or Industry
Compare the Internet vs.
Electronic Databases
Some important differences:

Electronic databases contain a collection of
information (articles, images, statistics, etc.) that
has been selected and packaged into a product that
the library subscribes to

Information in our electronic databases comes from

reputable sources and/or publications
Many electronic databases include a high
percentage of scholarly journals
E-Databases & Scholarly
Journals
 Scholarly journals are “peer-reviewed”
or “refereed”
 In many electronic databases, you can
limit your search to peer-reviewed
journals only www.iona.edu
Getting Full-text Articles
“So many” articles are not available in full-text in the
database that I’m searching? 
 Check the “Finding Journal Articles” web page to see if
the journal is available in our paper/microform collection
or electronically in another database
www.iona.edu/library Journal of Bacteriology
Document Delivery Service
(Interlibrary Loan or ILL)
To request an article from a journal that we
don’t have either in print or in another
electronic database:
Request
the article electronically by selecting
the “request articles” link on the Document
Delivery Services web page
Be sure to allow enough time for these
materials to be retrieved –
usually about 2 weeks
www.iona.edu/library
Writing Your Paper
Style guides are used to format your paper and
cite your sources of information
They will also help you to cite electronic sources
of information – information from databases,
the Internet, and so forth
Examples of Style Guides
 (CBE)
The Council of Biology Editors Style
of Documentation in Science and
Mathematics
http://www.monroecc.edu/depts/library/cbe.htm
 (ACS)
Guide
American Chemical Society Style
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/CHEM/acsstyle.html
Guides for Citing
Sources
http://www.iona.edu/library/
More assistance???
You may make an appointment for individual help
with a librarian by signing up for a “RAP” session
“RAP” (Research Assistance Program) sessions are a
service provided by the Iona College librarians
Appointments must be made at least 48 hours in
advance of the time you wish to meet and at least
two weeks before your assignment is due
Good luck with your research …..
If you need help, please ask a
librarian !
Callie Bergeris, 633-2227
Reference Desk, 637-7716