CHABOT LIBRARY |
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WORLD WIDE WEB WORKSHEET
CHABOT LIBRARY |
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Before Beginning: Look for books, articles, and online reference materials FIRST, unless the assignment asks you to solely look at the Web. Remember, searching for vital, quality information on the Web to your assignment can sometimes be your biggest waste of time!
I’m looking for information on:
(For now express your topic as a sentence, so you’re sure what your
focus will be):
Search Terms
(Use related terms and synonyms of as many terms you can think
of, as well):
Writing A Search Statement
(Here is how you phrase MOST search statements in MOST search engines,
but always check "Help" screens first, for each)
| +deregulation +california
+"energy crisis" +"rolling blackouts" |
A "plus" sign is used to tell the database that the words MUST appear within the web pages you are searching. |
| +"energy trading" –enron | A "minus" sign is used to tell the database that the phrase energy trading MUST appear but ONLY WHEN Enron does not. |
| "California energy crisis"
"United States" |
In most search engines, you MUST surround your phrase with quotation marks. Most search engines treat each word separately. If there were no quotes, the search engine will likely find pages that EITHER have the words "California," "energy," OR "crisis." And anywhere these words appear on a web page, meaning a lot of non-relevant results! |
Write your Search Statement Here:
Select Search Engine(s) or Web Director(ies)
Go to Web Guides and Search Engines:
http://www.chabotcollege.edu/Library/onlineref/websearch.html
(or for assistance for more simple searching, try www.findspot.com)
On the Web Guides and Search Engines page, notice the left and right sides
of the page:
| The left side is better for academic searching. Listed on the left are sites that lead you to directories run by analysts who have taken the time to evaluate the sites for you. Searching in these directories require searching by broad subject terms, first. And then from the sites you find, you will often find a long list of sites or a database that will then allow you to search for more specific terms (usually within your discipline). | The right side is available for general searching. Good for finding very specific searches as well, but in general there is little guarantee of quality, accuracy, authority, and objectivity. Searching here requires you to pay careful attention to how you phrase your search. |
A little clue from the librarian:
Good sites to find specific information with usually better sets of results: SearchEDU, SearchGov, Google Directory, Google, Teoma, Gigablast, WiseNut, IxQuick, Vivisimo
Good sites to find sites that select quality sites:
Scout
Report Archives, , Librarians' Index to the
Internet,
Academic Info,
InfoMine,
Virtual
LRC, Best Information on the Net, About
(Also check out sites under "Subject Specific" of the
Web Guides and Search Engines page)
Record Your Search Tools Here (Choose more
than one):
Enter your search strategy (Note: BE SURE TO READ the HELP OR "ABOUT" SCREENS FIRST IF NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE SEARCH ENGINE)
:
Number of Results:
Scan Records. I now need to:
__Narrow My Topic __Think Broader
Because:
(HINT: 400,000 results is a LOT to
look at, and many are likely not relevant). Very few results that
are definitely not relevant does not mean there are no sites on
your subject. You either need to think of a different term or think of
a broader one).
Look for "Clues" the Search Engine
or Web Directory May be Giving to You
Examples: In web directories like Yahoo!
There are links that are in bold that have subject terms. In search
engines like Alta Vista, a table will appear on top that provides terms
similar to the ones you entered.
Select the most promising site (Write
the URL here EXACTLY AS STATED):
Evaluate the Site Carefully, Paying Attention to the Following:
1. Accuracy - How
reliable and error free is the information? Who is the sponsoring
institution
(government, University, commercial company)? How credible or well
known is
the sponsoring institution?
Does the information consist of documented
facts or personal opinion?
3. Objectivity
- What is the site’s purpose:
to inform, explain, persuade or sell? Is the information presented
with a minimum of personal bias?
4. Currency - Is
the content of the work up-to-date? Is the date of creation or most
recent revision date clearly
shown?
5. Coverage - Is
it a comprehensive coverage of the subject matter? Is the information relevant
or useful for
your needs?
Continue to look for a site that best meets
the five principles above
Once you Find the Site, Make Sure You Record Vital Information
Title of Site (Not inside the page but on the WAY TOP LEFT):
World Wide Web Address:
Author (if known):
Name of Sponsoring Organization:
The Date you looked at this site:
Print out Relevant Parts of the Page For Future Reference
(Servers can crash and web pages can change overnight!)
In Your Paper, Any Ideas You Refer to, or Actual Phrases and Paragraphs from the Web Page, MUST Be Properly Cited
Failing to do so is PLAGIARISM, just as if you were directly copying from a book! Refer to your citation manual. Online versions of citation manuals with up-to-date information is available at: http://www.chabotcollege.edu/Library/onlineref/citation.html
What Other Online Article Databases, Print
Indexes, Bibliographies, or Books May Also Suit My Topic?
(Sometimes, the Web may not be useful for your search
AT ALL. Ask yourself: When will the Web best fit my research?)
For example, the Web may be useful on a topic that is
not often written about in books or is too new. The Web has sites that
are reference sources to your material. However, your topic may be so often
written about, or used so often for fantastical/fictional topics.
Remember: Anybody can put anything on the
Web. BE ALERT. Judge wisely and do not simply consider a site good just
because it looks "Cool."