Professor Admiraal ENGL101 J

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Professor Admiraal ENGL101 JO Research Toolkit

• Objectives for the session today
• Know how to select the best database(s) for your
  research question
• Get more practice in the databases
• Begin to learn to search the Web more effectively
  efficiently
• Apply critical thinking to your selection and use
  of resources

Kathy DeMey (kdemey_at_calvin.edu)
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Research Databases Expanding Your Toolkit

• How can research databases help you?
• They can help you find periodical literature
  (magazines, newspapers)
• They can guide you to peer-reviewed literature
• They can help you get to the most current
  information
• In many cases they can deliver full text
  documents to your desktop

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Selecting the Best Database(s)

• What research databases would you use if you were
  writing a paper on
• Use of voting machines in U.S. presidential
  election, 2000
• Changes in dating practices with the advent of
  the Internet
• Comparison of the movie music of John Williams
  and Patrick Doyle
• What led up to the genocide in Darfur, Sudan

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Practice in the Databases

• With a partner, find a citation in the Hekman
  library on the topic you chose for the previous
  activity
• Use of voting machines in U.S. presidential
  election, 2000
• Changes in dating practices with the advent of
  the Internet
• Comparison of the movie music of John Williams
  and Patrick Doyle
• What led up to the genocide in Darfur, Sudan

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Searching Smart on the Web

• Use some of the more advanced features that the
  search engine offers
• Be aware of how a search engine ranks pages
• Leverage the strengths of the Web (what is it
  good for?)
• Remember the riches of the hidden Web
  http//www.invisible-web.net/
• Use more than one search engine
  http//www.searchability.com/

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Advanced Searching on the Web Google and Beyond

• In Google Advanced Search Search for the topic
  of college students dating habits. Search .edu
  sites only and PDFs only in English.
• In Google Scholar Advanced Search look for the
  keywords Iraq and constitution. Search 2005
  only and select Social Sciences, Arts
  Humanities. Find a book citation and look for
  local libraries that own the book.
• Go to www.searchability.com and choose
  specialized metasearches on the left. Then
  select ProFusion and choose the News Headline
  News category. Search for information on Saddam
  Husseins trial.

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Hoax? Scholarly Research? Opinion? Which is it?

• Group 1 Authority and Accuracy
• Dihydrogen Monoxide in the Dairy Industry
• Mankato, Minnesota Home Page
• Medline PLUS
• Who put the page together?
• What is the background, credentials, or authority
  of the author?
• How would you verify the information presented?
• (content taken from UCLA library
  www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/hoax/i
  ndex.htm)

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Hoax? Scholarly Research? Opinion? Which is it?

• Group 2 Advocacy and Objectivity
• Earth Save International
• Martin Luther King, Jr. a Historical Examination
• The King Center
• Do the authors present the information as fact,
  opinion, or conjecture?
• Does the page present more than one viewpoint or
  opinion?
• Can you determine who or what group sponsors the
  page?
• (content taken from UCLA library
  www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/hoax/i
  ndex.htm)

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Hoax? Scholarly Research? Opinion? Which is it?

• Group 3 Currency and Coverage
• Sports Rumble
• CNN
• Mr. Cranky Rates the Movies
• Auto-by-Tel
• What does "up to date" or "current" mean for this
  site?
• Does the site really provide information on all
  the aspects or areas it claims to cover?
• (content taken from UCLA library
  www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/hoax/i
  ndex.htm)

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Summary

• Evaluating the Web
• Putting documents on the Web is easy, cheap,
  unregulated, and unmonitored
• Burden is on you to decide timeliness,
  authenticity, etc.
• Some good sites to check out for help in
  evaluating Web sites
• http//lii.org
• http//www.library.jhu.edu/researchhelp/general/ev
  aluating
• http//www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Eva
  luation.html

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Questions