Transcript Exploring Web Resources for Water Operations & Management

Eric W. Wohlers, PE
Env. Health Director
Chris Crawford, Ph.D.
Water Resource Specialist
Cattaraugus County
Agenda
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Basics of web-searching
Valuable PWS sites
Web Searching
Basics
Web Research Strategies –
Search Engines
Web directory defined :
“A web directory or link directory is a directory on the World Wide Web.
It specializes in linking to other web sites and categorizing those links.” Wikipedia
“A Web directory organizes Web sites by subject, and is usually maintained
by humans instead of software. ” about.com
“Directories, unlike search engines, use a hierarchical tree structure to
organize their database. Another common distinction is that a directory tends
to list Web sites (root directory of a site or homepage) whereas a search engine
will list Web pages (individual pages of a Web site). .” rustybrick.com
“Directories are run by humans who review web sites and categorize them
within their directories. This leads to a more abridged set of sites which can
good or bad depending on what you're searching for. ” haystackinaneedle.com
Web Research Strategies –
Search Engines
How do they work: Search
Web Crawler / spider –
A Web crawler is a computer program that
browses the World Wide Web in a
Methodical, automated manner or in an
orderly fashion. Copies visited pages for
processing by search engine.
Rules
- time
- following URLs
- what to copy
Meta-tags
Web Research Strategies –
Search Engines
How do they work: Search
Indexing–
Collects, parses, and stores data to
facilitate fast and accurate information
retrieval.
Factors
- Speed
- Storage
- Maintenance
- Ranking methods
Web Research Strategies –
Search Engines
How do they work:
Meta-search
Rules
-
weighting
ranking
source engines
Web Research Strategies –
Search Engines
Optimizing your search: Goldilocks
searches
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Don’t focus on one word
Think conceptually
Develop a question
Use advanced options
Think of associations
Information type (i.e. image, video, diagram)
Web Research Strategies –
Search Engines
Optimizing your search: Advanced
searching
Web Research Strategies –
Search Engines
Optimizing your search: Advanced
searching
Web Research Strategies – Search
Engines
Optimizing
Search –
Results Scan
 Source – Is it
appropriate?
Trade group
Govt. agency
Supplier /
consultant
News
Other
Optimizing
Search –
Results
Scan
 Date – Is it timely?
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Rate of change
Optimizing
Search –
Results
Scan
 Context – Is it
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accurate?
Surrounding
language
exact phrase
Optimizing Search – Evaluate Content
• Source
• Audience
• Language
Web Research Strategies - Directories
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www.dmoz.org
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dir.yahoo.com
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Site directories
- EPA.gov
Optimizing Search - Directories
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Use directory
search
Apply same
hints as
engines
Note category
Public Water
Supply Websites
American
Water
Works
Association
NY Rural
Water
Association
Association of State Drinking
Water Adminstrators
NYS Department of Health –
Drinking Water Protection Program
US EPA – Ground & Drinking Water
Program
National
Environmental
Services
Center
Water Environment Federation
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
USA Bluebook