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Internet research

Learn about different types of internet searches including known item, topical, exhaustive, and current awareness searches. Discover strategies for conducting effective searches, finding reliable information, and utilizing alternative search engines and research guides.

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Internet research

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  1. Internet research

  2. Types of searches • “known item” • topical • exhaustive • current awareness

  3. “One quick search” strategy

  4. What’s out there? • “raw materials” • not value-added • recent materials • better on human rights, environment, than business-related topics • lots of junk

  5. “Cat and Girl” --Dorothy Gambrell

  6. Search engines (SEs) • index the web, create their own database • scan their database when you search • return results by relevance • cover different sets of webpages • work literally

  7. semi-literal search engines“Speed Bump” –David Coverly

  8. Implications of how SEs work • SEs can’t reach all data on the web –”invisible web” (e.g., LexisOne requires password; library catalogs require a search) • Use more than one SE when can’t find something, or when you need to be exhaustive • New stuff can be hard to find

  9. Alternatives to search engines • Go where the news is (e.g., UN News Service, EU Press Room, government agencies) • Go where the databases are (library catalogs, cases, statutes)

  10. Research guides • GlobaLex for foreign/international law guides -- http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/index.html • ASIL Electronic Resources Guide for international topics --http://www.asil.org/erghome.cfm • LLRX.com for other foreign/international law guides--http://www.llrx.com/international_law.html

  11. Iterative searching • you probably already do this • refine search by adding or discarding terms

  12. Specific info on how Google works • designed to give good answers to short search strings • Less can be more; always fear unreliable info from your source • Google suggests alternative spellings, not good on some • Don’t ask questions; do ask “answers” • Don’t specify type of document (e.g., report, discussion, paper)

  13. Advanced searching • restrict your search to a site; e.g., site:www.worldcourts.com • search for synonyms; e.g., Rwanda tribunal OR ictr • eliminate terms; e.g., trafficking –drug –narcotics • restrict your search for a document title: e.g., allintitle:resolution 1441

  14. Foreign language • British spellings (e.g., labour) • Google is inconsistent in treatment of letters with diacritical marks as different from letters without those marks --try both for completeness • Be flexible; try alternate spellings

  15. Google Book Search & Google Scholar • Google Scholar -- searches full-text of scholarly journals • Google Book Search –searches full-text of books • access to complete text varies • sometimes better than library catalogs or journal indexes

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