Internet Based Research
Skills
Ezra Shiloba Gbaje
shiloba@yahoo.com
Department of Library and Information Science Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
Presented at
Petroleum Technology Development Fund Induction Workshop for 2007/2008
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Overview of Internet
The Internet is an informal, global
computer network connecting millions of computers across the world.
It is a voluntary network in which any
computers connected have chosen to do so in order to share and exchange
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Components of the Internet
• WWW (World Wide Web) • E-mail
• FTP
• Telnet • Listserv
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The Web
• The web had at the end of 2006 contain more than 80 billion web pages stored in computers all over the world.
• Millions of new Web pages are being added each day.
• Some existing pages are being updated or altered while some pages are being
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Challenges of the web
• Information overload
• Conducting a search can be time
consuming and frustrating for the non
expert.
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Search Tools
• A search tool is a computer program
that performs searches on the web
• Each search tool’s web site
comprises of a store of information
called database linked to other
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Types of Search Tools
• Directory search tool
• Search engine tool
• Directory with search engine
• Meta search tool
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Directory
search tool
• The search method it employs is also
known as a subject search. Examples of
directory/sub search tool are the
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Directory
search tool
• Advantage: It is easy to use. The,
information placed in its database is reviewed and indexed first by skilled persons to ensure its value.
• Disadvantage: Because directory reviews
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Search engine tool
• It searches for information through the use of keywords and responds with a list of
references
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Search engine tool
• Advantage: Its database is substantially larger and more current than that of a directory search tool.
• Disadvantage: Keyword searches require far more explanation than subject
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Directory with search engine
• It uses both the subject and keyword
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Directory with search engine
• Advantages: Ability to narrow the search field to obtain better results.
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Meta-engine search tool
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Meta-engine search tool
• Advantage: Tolerant of imprecise search questions and provides fewer hits of likely greater relevance.
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Search Methods
• A search method is the way a search tool requests and retrieves information from the Web site.
Keyword search
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Keyword search:
Boolean
• AND requires that both terms are present
somewhere within the document being sought
• OR requires that at least one of the terms
is present.
• NOT excludes any document containing
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• Plus / Minus
• Phrases
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Evaluating Internet Resources
• Accuracy of Web Documents
Who wrote the page and can you contact him
or her?
What is the purpose of the document and why
was it produced?
Is this person qualified to write this
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Evaluating Internet Resources
• Authority of Web Documents
Who published the document and is it
separate from the "Webmaster?"
Check the domain of the document, what
institution publishes this document?
Does the publisher list his or her
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Evaluating Internet Resources
• Objectivity of Web Documents
What goals/objectives does this page meet? How detailed is the information?
What opinions (if any) are expressed by the
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Evaluating Internet Resources
• Coverage of the Web Documents
Are the links (if any) evaluated and do they
complement the documents theme?
Is it all images or a balance of text and
images?
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Evaluating Internet Resources
• Currency of Web Documents
When was it produced? When was it updated?
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Open Access Initiatives
• OAI is a new paradigm in scholarly
publishing. It aims to promote models that ensure free and unrestricted access to
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Open Access Engineering
• Open Access Engineering Journals
• Engineering Economics - Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
• Crosstalk - the Journal of Defense Software Engineering - United States Government • Information Technology Journal - ANSInet
• BioMedical Engineering OnLine - BioMed Central
• Electronic Journal of Structural Engineering - The University of Melbourne, Australia • International Journal of Online Engineering
• Journal of Chemical Engineering of Japan - The Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan • Electronic Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
• International Commission of Agricultural Engineering - CIGR • Journal of STEM Education - Auburn University, USA
• Journal of Nanomaterials - Hindawi Publishing Corporation, Egypt
• Mathematical Problems in Engineering - Hindawi Publishing Corporation, Egypt • Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Institute of Japan
• Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering • Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences
• Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering - Brazilian Society of Chemical Engineering • Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Quarterly - Coratia, Slovenia and Austria
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Library Website
• Library Catalog
• Carefully selected and evaluated resources
• Links to other library catalog • Remote access to resources • Interlibrary loan
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References
• Bailey, Jr., C.W (2006). What is Open access?, in Neil Jacobs(ed). Open Access: Key Strategic, Technical and Economic Aspects. Oxford – England : Chandos Publishing.
• Comer D. (2000). The Internet Book: Everything You Need To Know About Computer Networking And How the Internet Works. 3rd edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. ISBN: 0-1303-0852-8.
• Evaluation Criteria for Web Resources. Retrieved on 18/06/2007 from http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html
• Gbaje E.S. (2002). Towards an Effective Internet Search. Samaru Journal of Information Studies, Vol. 1(1), 15-18.
• http://www.boutell.com/newfaq/misc/sizeofweb.html
• L-Soft international, Inc. General User's Guide to LISTSERV. Retrieved on 26/07/2007 from http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8d/user/user.html
• Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2003, January). Do-It-Yourself : writing weblogs in a
• knowledge society. Paper presented at the American Education Research Association • Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
• Pitschmann, Louis A. (2001). Building sustainable collections for free third party web resources. Washington, D.C.: Digital Library Federation, Council on Library and Information Resources. • Suber P. (2003). Removing barriers to research: An introduction to open access for librarians.