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Finding Jewels in a Treasure Chest:  Portals and Databases Portals   |  Databases (NOTE: PLEASE allow time for this assignment.)

Has searching the Web seemed like "finding a needle in a haystack?"  Well, as we will learn when it comes to evaluating the web pages we find from general search engines and metasearch engines and even some web directories like Yahoo!, what we find may not be the best information, not the most authoritative, not the most truthful, and even moreso may not even suit any college level class research project.  So there may be times you may want to search Portals, instead, sites (usually in the form of some type of directory) that features web pages selected by information professionals, specialists somehow related to their field, and academics.  This assignment asks you to discover and utilize such resources.

The process here is what I call finding "jewels in a treasure chest."  The challenge here is that they are all jewels and you need to find the right one that fits your topic.  In some ways, finding that jewel may be actually more trying than finding a simple needle in a haystack.  Because most often, you cannot find the site simply by entering exact phrases or terms, you need to browse by broad disciplines.

You will use all three portals: Librarians' Index to the Internet (LII), INFOMINE, and Virtual LRC to answer the same question.  I will point out that ALL three of these portals WILL lead you to results for number 2, so remember: sometimes you may need to think in more broader terms.   You may not necessarily find answers from all three for number 3, but must provide proof you searched through two portals.

NOTE: BEFORE BEGINNING, TAKE A LOOK AT EACH PORTAL.  It is useful to see all options that may be available to you, as well as read any "Help" screens on how to use the portal.  When searching a portal's search engine, do not forget about USING QUOTATIONS FOR PHRASES!
 
 

Librarians' Internet Index http://lii.org

INFOMINE  http://infomine.ucr.edu/

Virtual Learning Resources Center http://www.virtuallrc.com

 

1.  Find a site that leads you to reliable information on whether or not genetically engineered food is safe to eat or not.  (HINT: Remember to search ONLY for broad terms such as "genetically engineered food" synonyms such as "genetically modified foods" or even related broad terms such as "food safety" and consider combining broad terms such as [biotechnology and food].)
 

LIBRARIANS' INTERNET INDEX

    A)  Write down BRIEFLY the steps you took to find a reliable site (but make sure you write down ALL of the steps.  REMEMBER: you may have to look at web pages the portal leads you to, first, and then from there, find a relevant web site).  Remember to include your search strategy.

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    B)  List the number of RELEVANT sites you find that states your EXACT topic from the portal (if relevant).   ____

    C) Write here the web page title and URL for a good site you eventually found from searching this particular portal.

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INFOMINE

    A)  Write down BRIEFLY the steps you took to find a reliable site (but make sure you write down ALL of the steps.  REMEMBER: you may have to look at web pages the portal leads you to, first, and then from there, find a relevant web site).  Remember to include your search strategy.

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    B)  List the number of RELEVANT sites you find that states your EXACT topic from the portal (if relevant).   ____

    C) Write here the web page title and URL for a good site you eventually found from searching this particular portal.

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    A)  Write down BRIEFLY the steps you took to find a reliable site (but make sure you write down ALL of the steps.  REMEMBER: you may have to look at web pages the portal leads you to, first, and then from there, find a relevant web site).  Remember to include your search strategy.

_______________________________________________________________________________________
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    B)  List the number of RELEVANT sites you find that states your EXACT topic from the portal (if relevant).   ____

    C) Write here the web page title and URL for a good site you eventually found from searching this particular portal.

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2.  Okay, you have tackled these three portals.  Now: Search for a web site related to your term project topic through one of the portals.  Write down ALL the steps you took,  (Note: If you do not find a site, write down all the steps you took, anyway.  Those in teams, EACH of you search on your own for this one).

List Portal Here:  ______________________________

    A)  Write down BRIEFLY the steps you took to find a reliable site (but make sure you write down ALL of the steps.  REMEMBER: you may have to look at web pages the portal leads you to, first, and then from there, find a relevant web site).  Remember to include your search strategy.

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    B)  List the number of RELEVANT sites you find that states your EXACT topic from the portal (if relevant).   ____

    C) Write here the web page title and URL for a good site you eventually found from searching this particular portal.

 ____________________________________________________
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INSTRUCTIONS:
 

1. Look at the descriptions listed on the Databases to Magazine, Journal, Newspaper Articles and more page.
2. For the problems listed below choose which databases you believe will best answer the questions.
3. For #4, please write out your search statement and find an article.  Staple the first page of the article to this assignment when you hand it in.
4. When done, ask yourself why you may want to use premium subscription databases such as these instead of the World Wide Web for your other classes.

Which database(s) might you use to :

3.  Find an article that discusses whether or not civil liberties are being sacrificed for the sake of national security (especially after the September 11, 2001 attacks)? For one of the databases, search and find an article and staple the first page of it onto this assignment.  Mention below the database you opted to use and your search statement:

Database(s):

Search Statement:
 

For 4-6, just mention the database(s) you can use

4. Find a movie review on director Terry Gilliam's 1985 science fiction classic, "Brazil"?
 
 

5. Find an article that discusses the latest research in finding a cure for AIDS?
 
 

6.  For some of your other classes, why may you want to use library subscription databases instead of searching the World Wide Web?

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EXTRA CREDIT:

7.  Using the Resources by Subject page, http://www.chabotcollege.edu/Library/subjectindex/ select a discipline that comes closest to matching your term project topic (think BROADLY.  For example, for an athlete, think "Sports").   When you get a discipline's listings, select  the bottom left links that leads to the publicly accessible web sites.   If you find any possible sites from there for your search topic, record them here.

a)  List Discipline used:   _____________________.

b)  List Web search tool or site used:  _____________________________________.  (Note: should not be Ebsco Host, Lexis-Nexis, etc. as they are not publicly accessible web sites.  Those are ones that you have access to as a Chabot student, but would not have access from home if you were not).

c.  List steps you took to find a site (think of your search strategy):

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8.  Use a library subscription database to find an article for your topic.

a)  List a database here:   ____________________

b)  Write a search strategy:  ________________

c)  Find an article.  Instead of writing down the URL, write down the citation of the article (title of article, author, title of publication, year, volume number, and page number the article begins):

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d.  List web page titles and sites here: