Welcome to the Web: An Internet primer for KJB101 students

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• Welcome to the Web An Internet primer for
  KJB101 students
• Presenter Graham Cairns

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Introduction Today we will look at

• History of the Internet
• Basic search engines / techniques
• Uses for journalists
• Credibility
• Online research tips
• Journalists as info refiners
• Newsgroups and mailing lists

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History of the Internet

• What is the Internet? An inter-connected network
  of networks. For an example see
  http//www.cybergeography.org/atlas/atlas.html
• Began as a text only medium (Arpanet ). Became
  graphical when Europeans began experimenting with
  hyperlinks and GUIs heres a very early
  version.
• World Wide Web didnt exist before the 1990s.

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History of the Internet

• No-one owns the net.  Ultimate user pays
  cooperative.
• Internet is more than the WWW.  Also includes
• Usenet
• Email
• FTP
• Gopher
• Education v Entertainment v Enterprise.

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Basic Search Techniques

• Various types of searching (subject directories,
  search engines, database queries)
• http//www.yahoo.com (pre-selected)
• http//www.askjeeves.com (natural language)
• http//www.google.com (very fast metasearcher)
• http//news.google.com (search news coverage)
• http//groups.google.com (for usenet discussion)
• For a good overview of search strategies, visit
  http//powerreporting.com/category/Search_tools/
  or http//www.journalismnet.com/search/

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Uses for Journalists

• Use to research facts, figures from around the
  world
• Email and Usenet good sources of stories and
  talent
• Real-life examples
• http//members.optusnet.com.au/slamble/Why_use_CA
  R.htm

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Credibility

• Treat Net sources as all others .. always
  verify.
• For suggestions, see
• http//www.widener.edu/Tools_Resources/Libraries/W
  olfgram_Memorial_Library/Evaluate_Web_Pages/659
• http//ksgwww.harvard.edu/library/www_evaluate.htm
  
• http//alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/janicke/Eval.html
• http//www.poynterextra.org/extra/newcar/car5a.htm
  
• http//www.webcredibility.org/
• Professional Look does not always mean credible
• http//www.landoverbaptist.org/
• www.creativitymovement.us

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The story so far

• An inter-connected network of networks
• Began as a text only medium
• World Wide Web only began in the 90s
• Internet is more than the WWW
• Education v Entertainment v Enterprise
• Various types of searches - choose before
  starting
• Use to research facts, figures from around the
  world
• Email and Usenet good sources of stories and
  talent
• Treat Net sources as all others .. always
  verify.
• Professional look doesnt always mean credible

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Librarians Journalists

• Both concerned with the quality of information
  provided for, and to, their audiences.
• Librarians provide good guides to evaluating
  internet Information
• However, they are NOT journalists, so bear that
  in mind.

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Journalistic Skepticism

• Being skeptical means that you recognize that
  everyone has a vested interest in telling you
  things...people naturally put their ideas in the
  best light and they dont volunteer information
  about the flaws in their ideas.
• Dr. Len Granato in Reporting and Writing News

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Start Locally Research Globally

• The internet is only ONE source of information.
• Use more traditional sources of information
  selectively and in combination with the net.
• QUT library internet resources webpage
• http//wwwlib.qut.edu.au/elibrary/internet/

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NewsGroups (Usenet)

• Tens of Thousands
• Every Possible Topic (and then some...)
• Newsgrooups are generally not moderated
• Closed Private (ListServs)
• FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
• news.answers alt.answers - FAQ

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Usenet contd...

• Lurking (checking out the territory)
• Flames Flame Wars (Dont!)
• Searching Google Groups and Topica or
  tile.net etc
• FAQs - Internet FAQ Consortium http//www.faqs.org
  /
• Handy for Current Discussions Possible
  Contacts/Sources

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Help!

• When visiting any Search Engine, carefully read,
  even Save or Print, its Help or Suggestions
  Pages.
• Note Search Syntax, comments about how to
  construct detailed queries, how the Engine uses
  Boolean Logic any Stop Words (e.g.. a, an, the,
  and...)

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Be Patient Persistent

• People are not going to drop everything to
  respond to a journalists questions
• The internet is dynamic, constantly changing
  suffering from traffic jams (AKA The World
  Wide Wait)
• Know how to work around various WWW Error
  Messages, e.g. 404 errors

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A final reminder

• What does the website claim?
• Apply Journalistic Skepticism
• Check Domain Name Info
• Consider the style Language Used
• If in doubt, Compare Sites