LSCI 106: ONLINE RESEARCH 1: INTRODUCTION TO ONLINE RESEARCH
Assignment #5
USING WEB SEARCH TOOLS
Due: November 15
Required
1. Write the current research question
that you are working on:
(e.g. What is the effect of illegal immigration on the
Complete searches based on your research question for the web search tools in the questions below:
2. Use the Librarians’ Internet
Index (LII) to find websites related to your research
question. LII is a selective subject directory of about 17,000 websites. (You may want to read the LII “Help” screen for a complete
explanation of how to search this directory.)
You may recall from the reading that subject directories are used to find high
quality general websites on a subject and using these websites to
“drill down” and find websites that focus on a specific topic.
Therefore, begin your search by typing in a word or phrase that describes the general subject under which your
specific research question falls.
For example:
Research question: How will increased use
of genetically engineered crops affect food safety?
General subject: genetic
engineering
Type in the search box on LII: genetic
engineering
Click
here to see a search example in LII.
a. What were the exact search word(s) you used
to search for sites on your general subject?
b. How many sites were found from that search? (See " Viewing 1 to … of … " at the top
right of the results page.) Click here
to see an example of search results in LII.
c. What is the title of the best general website on
your subject that you found using the Librarians'
Internet Index?
d. Copy the full URL (Internet address) for the page you selected. (When
copying the URL, please include the complete address beginning with: http:// )
Using the website(s) that you found on your general subject (i.e. your answer
to question 3c), find a web page that focuses more directly on your specific research question. (This is the “drilling down”
part.) Do this by using one or both of the following methods:
Method #1: Look to see if
the website has a site-specific search
engine. If it does, use this search engine to
try to find web pages on your specific research question. Most likely you will do this search by
typing in a search term from one or more of your other concepts. For example:
Research question: How will increased use
of genetically engineered crops affect food safety?
Search terms to use on a site-specific search engine: food
safety
Click
here to see an example of a site-specific search.
Method #2: Look for links given by the general website
you’ve chosen. These links
usually take you to web pages that discuss specific aspect(s) of the general
subject. Thus, some of these links
may pertain to your specific research question. Click here to see an example of a using a link to find a more
specific webpage.
e. Describe the method you used to find a webpage that focuses more directly on
your specific research question.
For example: “I used the site-specific search engine on the ‘Gene Stories’ web site.” or: “I used a link from the ‘Genetically Engineered Organisms’
home page.”
f. What is the title of a webpage that focuses more directly on your specific research question.
g. Copy the full URL (Internet address) of the page you selected that discusses
your specific research question. (When copying the URL, please include the
complete address beginning with: http:// )
3. A different approach to finding websites
is to use a general Web search engine to go directly to websites that are as
closely related as possible to your specific research question.
Use Google for this
search. All your concepts
should be included when using a general Web search engine.
(You may want to read the U.C.
Berkeley Google tutorial
before completing this question.)
a. What were the exact search words you used?
(Please try to follow the example below.)
Please note: When using Google:
·
be as precise as possible-- use at least
one search term from each of your concepts;
·
put quote marks around phrases
(more than one word that go together);
·
ANDs are not necessary, but ORs
are required when linking synonymous search terms for the same concept. ORs must be capitalized in Google.
· You may add parentheses and ANDs
to make it easier to see & organize your concepts. Some examples:
(“genetically engineered
crops” OR “genetically modified foods”) AND (“food
safety” OR “food quality” OR “food
contamination”)
("illegal
immigration" OR "illegal aliens") AND (economy)
AND ("
b. How many web pages/sites did Google find using your search terms?
(See "Results 1 - 10 of about ---" at the top of the results page.)
c. What are the titles of the two best web pages or websites you found
using Google?
d. Copy the full Internet addresses for the pages/sites you selected. (When
copying the address, please include the complete address beginning with: http:// ) (2 points)
4. a. Compare your searches and search
results on Google and the Librarians' Internet Index. What were
the advantages and disadvantages of each search tool in terms of ease of
searching and quality and quantity of the search results?
b. Compare Google and the Librarians' Internet Index to the periodical
and book databases used in the previous assignments (i.e. the InfoTrac
databases and the PLS online catalog) in terms of:
- quality
of the information you found
- relevancy to your research question
- ease of use
SUBMIT ASSIGNMENT
E-mail: your answers to: brenner@smccd.net
| Home | Syllabus | Assignments | Text | Instructor |
last revised: 11-8-05 by Eric Brenner,
These materials may be used for educational purposes if you inform and credit the author and cite the source as: LSCI 106 Online Research. All commercial rights are reserved. Send comments or suggestions to: Eric Brenner at brenner@smccd.net