Transcript Internet_2016 - TSIME Online

Internet
Darlington Musemburi
University of Zimbabwe
Faculty of Law Librarian
Objectives
• To define and distinguish the Internet and the
World Wide Web.
• To identify applications and services available on
the Internet.
• To highlight the various uses of the internet in
the academic environment.
Some Common Terms
• The Internet is a network of computers spanning the globe.
It is also called the World Wide Web.
(Internet serves as a global data communication
system that links millions of private, public, academic
and
business
networks
via
international
telecommunications backbone that consist of various
electronic and optical technologies- “information
superhighway)
• An Internet/Web Browser is a software program that
enables you to view Web pages on your computer. Browsers
connect computers to the Internet, and allow people to “surf
the Web.”
• Internet Explorer, Mozila Firefox and Google Chrome
are some of the browsers most commonly used. There are
other browsers available as well, including Netscape,
OPERA etc.
• Plug-ins
Are software for handling special types of data like
videos and sound files. A common plug-in used by
web browsers if Adobe Acrobat Reader that allows
you to read PDF files
• A site or area on the World Wide Web that is
accessed by its own Internet address is called a
Web site.
• A Web Page is like a page in a book. Websites
often have several pages that you can access by
clicking on links. A Web site can be a collection of
related Web pages.
• Each Web site contains a home page (this is the
original starting page) and may also contain
additional pages.
• URL- Uniform Resource Locator- addresses that
point to specific resources or files on the WWW.
WWW contd
Visible/Public Web
Invisible/Deep Web (Library
Resources)
Available for search engines to crawl and
index
Are not indexed by search engines
Are all websites that can be picked up by
search engines
Password protected
• Consist of
Some if the sources have not been reviewed Sources and search tools have been
reviewed and recommended by experts
or evaluated; anything goes
Identity and credentials of the author or
creator are often unavailable
Sources are more likely to have been
written or developed by experts, who are
identified
Open to anyone, anywhere
Resources are intended for a specific
academic community
Little organization and limited searching
features; information may or may not be
updated
Databases and other resources are betterorganized, updated, and offer various
advanced features
Layout of a Web Page
1. Title bar – tells you the name of the web page
2. Menu bar – has commands for moving around the
webpage, printing, etc
3. Tool bar – short cuts to commands. Each picture
represents a command
4. Address bar – webpage address. If you want to go directly
to a web page, you will need to know the address.
Parts of a Web Address
• A web address is typically composed of four parts:
• For example, the address http://www.google.ca is
made up of the following areas:
• http://
This Web server uses Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTP). This is the most common protocol on the
Internet.
• www
This site is on the World Wide Web.
• google
The Web server and site maintainer.
• ca
This tells us it is a site in Canada.
• Endings of web pages tells us a bit about the page. Some
common endings to web addresses are:
•
•
•
•
•
com (commercial)
edu (educational institution)
gov (government)
net (network)
org (organization)
• You might also see addresses that add a country code as
the last part of the address such as:
• ca (Canada)
• uk (United Kingdom)
• fr (France)
• us (United States of America)
• au (Australia)
• zw(Zimbabwe)
• za (SouthAfrica
Types of websites
Personal Websites
• Personal web pages are WWW web
pages created by an individual to contain
content of a personal nature rather than on
behalf of a company, organization or institution.
• Personal web pages are often used solely for
informative or entertainment purposes.
• The content tells your readers about your
thoughts, ideas, interests, hobbies, family,
friends, or something you feel strongly about..
File Sharing Websites
• File Sharing websites do exactly what their title
says; they provide space for people to post files
like photos or videos so other people may view
them, save them and sometimes buy them.
• Some good example of File Sharing websites are
Dropbox, YouTube, Shutterfly, Flickr, and
Google's Picasa.
Social Websites
• These websites build online communities of
people who want to interact with other people
socially or meet people who share their interests.
• These community sites usually contain a lot of
personal and private information about its'
members.
• Some examples of social websites are Facebook,
Twitter and MySpace.
Blogging Websites
• Blogs (or Web Logs) can be categorized as online
journals or editorials that give regular people the
power to tell the world what is on their mind whether it be their view on a political issue or what
they had for lunch.
• There are many free Blogging sites out there, but
Blogger by Google is probably the most popular, as
of now.
• With Blogger you can create an account and
Blogging page for free and post as many times a day
as you want.
Informational Websites
• A lot of informational websites are usually
opinion based, so be careful when using another
site as a source.
• A good example of a situation like this is the site
called wikipedia.org, which is an online
encyclopedia. It is unique, because it allows
visitors to contribute and edit articles.
E-commerce Websites
• E-Commerce means On-line Shops, Commercial
and Auction Websites. Just about anything you can
think of in today’s world is sold on the World Wide
Web.
• In order to be a competitor with other businesses
on the Internet you must have an E-Commerce
Website that stands out from all of the rest.
• There are millions of businesses who use their
ecommerce websites to sell their products over the
Internet. Eg Amazon
Common uses of internet
• Communicating is by far the most popular
internet activity. You can exchange e-mail with
your family and friends almost anywhere in the
world. You can join and listen to discussions and
debates on a wide variety of special-interest topic
• Searching for information has never been more
convenient. You can access some of the world’s
largest libraries and databases directly from your
home computer. You can find the latest local and
international news, research reports and books.
Common uses of internet contd...
• Education or e-learning is another rapidly emerging
Web application. You can take classes an almost any
subject. There are courses for fun, high school, college
and graduate school. Some cost nothing and others cost
a lot.
• Shopping is one of the fastest growing internet
applications. You can window shop, look for the latest
books, fashion, search for bargains and make
purchases.
• Entertainment options are nearly endless. You can find
music, movies, magazines and computer games. You
will find live concerts, book clubs and interactive live
games.
Internet Services
•
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Email
Blogs and Wikis
Search Engines
Web 2.0
Video Conferencing
Podcasting
E-learning
Entertainment
Email
• E-mail is an electronic message containing information sent
from one computer to another over networks.
• E-mails can contain attachments such as pictures, sound
files, documents, etc.
• E-mail is a cheaper and faster method of communication
than normal post, fax or telephone calls.
• E-mail functions independently of location and time zones.
• It allows you to send messages to and receive messages
from anyone who is connected to the Internet.
Blogs and Wikis
• Blogs or web logs are personal web pages that
contain personal thoughts and links to other sites
that are of particular interest to a blog owner.
• Blogs are used as a publishing mechanism and
sometimes contain personal opinions and
commentaries on the events of the day.
• Wikis are collaborative websites where the
communities participate in writing a publication,
like an encyclopedia or a general purpose website..
• An example of an encyclopedia written in this
fashion is the Wikipedia.
Search Engines
• Search Engines are specialised programs that
assist you in locating information on the Web
and the Internet.
• The search engine compares your entry against
its database and returns a list of hits, or sites
that contain the keywords.
• The information may consist of web pages,
images, information and other types of files.
Details on search engines will be discussed in the
next chapter.
Web 2.0
• Web 2.0 is a term used to describe cultural trends like
social networking, blogging, podcasting, and streaming
media; it describes a landscape in which users control their
online experience and influence the experiences of others.
• Web 2.0 has influenced a generation of students that
prefers speed and interactivity; it is a generation that not
only wants to access information, it also wants to
disseminate it.
• There are a number of different types of web 2.0
applications including wikis, blogs, social networking,
folksonomies, podcasting & content hosting services. Many
of the most popular websites are Web 2.0 sites such as
Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr.
Video Conferencing
• Video conferencing allows you to chat with one
or more people in real time and/or to see live
images as you speak or type.
• Besides the normal equipment appropriate
equipment to use this service would be a
microphone, speakers and a video camera.
• A video conference can therefore be a true video
conference or only audio and text based.
•
Podcasting
• Podcasting is a way of making audio or video
files available on the internet that can either be
listened to or viewed on a PC or downloaded to a
hand-held device such as an iPod or mp3 player.
• A podcast will be treated as a sound recording
(audio podcasts).
E-learning Platforms
• E-learning includes numerous types of media that
deliver text, audio, images, animation, and streaming
video, and includes technology applications and
processes such as audio or video tape, satellite TV, and
computer-based learning, as well as local
intranet/extranet and web-based learning.
• E-learning can occur in or out of the classroom. It can
be self-paced, asynchronous learning or may be
instructor-led, synchronous learning.
• E-learning is suited to distance learning and flexible
learning, but it can also be used in conjunction with
face-to-face teaching, in which case the term blended
learning is commonly used.
Advantages
• Rich source of information
• Anybody can publish online
• Fast and powerful search
engines
• Immediate communication
• Global communication of
information
• Ease of use
• Cost effective
• Information available on any
computer connected
• Information can be found
quickly
Disadvantages
• All information not necessarily
credible
• No quality control and validity
check
• Information overload
• Speed takes precedence over
credibility
• Emphasizes the digital divide
• Viruses, hackers, logic bombs,
etc.
• Doesn’t reach people not
connected
• You have to have a computer
with an Internet connection
• Information can also disappear
quickly so that you cannot find
it again
Search Engines
• A web search engine is designed to search for
information on the World Wide Web. The search
results are generally presented in a list of results
often referred to as search engine results
pages (SERPs) or hits.
• The information may consist of web pages,
images, information and other types of files.
How does a search engine works
• A search engine operates in the following order:
• Web crawling, Indexing and Searching
• Web search engines work by storing information about
many web pages, which they retrieve from the internet.
These pages are retrieved by a Web crawler an
automated Web browser which follows every link on the
site.
• The contents of each page are then analyzed to
determine how it should be indexed (for example,
words can be extracted from the titles, page content, and
headings).
• Data about web pages are stored in an index database
for use in later queries.
Types of search engines
• Search engines can be classified according to structure,
content and or size. For the purposes of this module
search engines are classified according to content.
General Search Engines
• A general search engine is a search engine that covers the
overall Web, using its own spider to collect Web pages for
its own index.
• Examples of general search engines
• General search engines have been popular and newsworthy
for many years.
• Google ( www.google.com )
• Bing ( www.bing.com )
• Yahoo! ( www.yahoo.com )
• Gigablast (www.gigablast.com)
• Exalead (www.exalead.com)
When to use general search
engines?
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When one has a well-defined topic or idea to research
When one’s topic is obscure
When one is looking for a specific site
When one wants to search the full text of millions of Web
pages
• When one wants to retrieve a large number of Web sites
on one’s topic
• When one wants to search for particular types of
documents, sites, file types, languages, date last
modified, geographical location, etc.
Meta Search Engines
• A Meta search engine searches multiple search engines
from a single search page.
• Meta search engines enable users to enter search criteria
once and access several search engines simultaneously.
• Meta search engines operate on the premise that the
Web is too large for any one search engine to index it all
and that more comprehensive search results can be
obtained by combining the results from several search
engines.
• This also may save the user from having to use multiple
search engines separately
Examples of meta search engines
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Examples of meta search engines
DogPile ( www.dogpile.com)
Metacrawler (www.matacrawler.com)
Search .com (www.search.com )
Clusty (www.clusty.com )
Mamma (www.mamma.com )
When to use meta search engines
• When one wants to retrieve a relatively small number of
relevant results
• When one’s topic is obscure
• When one is not having luck finding what you want
• When one wants the convenience of searching a variety
of different content sources from one search page
Directories
• Directories use subject headings to categorize their
information, e.g. business management could be a
heading. Examples of web directories are Lycos and
Yahoo. Directories usually contain links (pointers) to sites
that have got the information one is looking for.
•
Examples:
▫ Yahoo Directory (www.yahoo.com)
▫ Open Directory (www.dmoz.org)
▫ Open Science Directory
(www.opensciencedirectory.net/)
▫ Directory of Institutional Repositories (
www.opendoar.org)
▫ Directory of Open Access Journals (www.doaj.org )
Specialist or Vertical Search Engines
• A specialist searches a specific subject, industry, topic,
type of content (e.g., travel, movies, images, blogs, and
live events), piece of data, geographical location, and so
on.
• It may help to think of vertical search as a search for a
particular niche.
• Some of this content cannot be found, or is difficult to
find, on general search engines.
• To find a vertical/specialist search engine, one can use a
general search engine and try to find a search site
dedicated to a particular type of content, for
example legal search, job search, and so on.
When to use vertical search engines
• When one’s topic is focused on a specific topic,
industry, content type, geographical location,
language, etc.
• When one is having difficulty locating what they
want on general, meta, or concept categorizing
search engines
Examples
• Google Scholar (Full text
scholarly articles)
• Justia
• Findlaw
• http://scholar.google.com/sch
hp?hl=en)
• https://www.justia.com/
• http://www.findlaw.com/
Information Search Strategy
Why search skills are important?
• Increasingly people are turning to the Internet to find
information. People often assume that they need no
training to search the Internet and that technology
does all the work.
• In fact, a little time spent in formulating a search
strategy will both save you time and provide you with
greatly improved results.
• It is very tempting to rush into your search for
information without planning exactly how you are going to
carry out your search. People often make some common
mistakes:
• using the wrong search tool/resource for the job
• not planning a good search strategy.
• A lack of knowledge about which resources are available,
and about how a particular resource works can waste time
and produce poor results.
• Learning how to search efficiently in databases, and how
information is structured in them, provides you with
useful transferable knowledge and skills
Search strategy
a systematic plan for conducting a search.
• The process of planning a search strategy will help clarify your
thinking about your topic, and ensure that you are looking for
information appropriate to your task.
• Taking time to plan before you begin searching, will save you
time once you start exploring the resources on offer.
You are more likely to search efficiently if you take a
methodical approach:
Step 1 - make sure you fully
understand your question/topic
 First look at the question or project specification you have
chosen/been given and make sure you fully understand it.
 Before you can find any information for your project or
question you must understand fully what is being asked.
 If you're not sure about the meaning of any word, name,
place etc then look it up before you start. The library has a
range of subject dictionaries and encyclopaedias for you to
use. Alternatively, discuss the project with your
supervisor/friend.
Step 2 - Identify keywords and
phrases
• Once you are sure you know the meaning of the
question/project specification, work out which are the main
words or phrases, known as keywords or key phrases.
• Keywords and key phrases indicate what the project or question
is really about. They provide initial search terms for finding
information. It is important to spot them all if you are going to
answer questions correctly.
• using the wrong keywords means you will get the wrong
information
Step 3 – Identify synonyms and
related terms.
• Identifying the major concepts is an excellent start, but there’s
no guarantee that the database will have indexed using the
words that you have identified, even if they are on exactly the
topic you’re interested in.
• Therefore, to ensure you find all the information about your
topic, for each concept, you need to identify as many different
words and phrases that might be used to describe it as you can.
• Think of broader terms which will help you find more general
information. Think of narrower terms to help you find more
specific information
Step 4 – (Search Statement Development)
creating your search statement
They are many ways we use to create search
statements:
Boolean logic
• Search terms may be combined using Boolean logic, so that the
most relevant results are returned. Most online catalogues and
databases will have a default operator, and if you type in
keywords without specifying an operator/s, it will automatically
use the default.
• Three logical commands/operators are available in most search
software – OR, AND, NOT. Some databases uses other
operators, check the Help facilities.
Boolean operators
• In the diagrams, below, the box represents all the articles in the
database, whilst circles “a” and “b” represent articles that
include keyword “a” and “b”, respectively. Retrieved results are
shown in the shaded area.
Phrase searching
• You may also be able to search for an exact phrase. This may
done by selecting the “exact phrase” option, or by specifying the
phrase yourself (this is usually denoted by the use of quotation
marks).
• “Operating system” – returns records that contain
both operating and system immediately adjacent to
each other
• “palliative care”
• “palliative care” OR “pain management”
Truncation
• Right truncation
• audit* (audit, audits, auditing, audition….)
• Internal Truncation
• Colo*r (color, colour)
• (used on instances where you are not sure if the
word is a singular term)
Question Searching
• A question may be entered in the search field of
a search engine.
• Ask Jeeves is a search engine that encourages
the use of question searching
Advanced Searching
• Advanced search features are offered on many
engines by going to an “Advanced Search” page
and making selections
• This is effective in narrowing search returns to a
specific topic or phrase
Google Advanced Search
Search Statement Development
• Effects of the sun on development of skin
cancer in Zimbabwe.
Sun Skin Cancer
• Synonyms
• (Effect-symptoms, Sun-Solar, Skinepithelium, Cancer-carcinoma)
• Final Search Statement
• (effect OR symptom) AND (skin OR
epithelium) AND (cancer or carcinoma) +
Zimbabwe
• Step 5 - start searching
• Step 6 – evaluate your search results
• Step 7 - saving searches/creating alerts
• Step 8 - taking references
• You may need to revise your search strategy once you have
surveyed the results from your first search due to returning
results that are inappropriate to your topic