Researching on the Internet made Easy

1. Researching on the Internet made Easy

2. Walkthrough 1) Getting Started - Types of Internet Sources and where to look 2)Filtering Information and Critical Researching -Critically evaluating your Sources 3) A Guide to Search Operators -Narrowing your Searches

3. Getting Started • The Internet to say the least is a mixed bag. On one hand, it is the source of incredibly annoying internet memes (if you have ever been “Rick-rolled” before, you’ll know what I mean…) • On the other hand, it is an incredible source of information, (an information “super-highway” in the words of Al Gore). The internet has a plethora of information available to you. • So why is it that schools are averse to you doing “online researching” with so much information online? It’s because the internet is filled with a lot of bad sources. It’s not a matter of look for sources but looking for good sources. We hope that this webinar will tell you how to do exactly that.

4. Types of Sources There are numerous kinds of sources you should be aware of on the internet. There are far too many as to defy listing but this webinar will focus on a few sources listed below. -Wikipedia (we all use it…and you know it) -The News -Current Affairs magazines -News Aggregators and Blogs -Research articles

5. Wikipedia(www.wikipedia.org) • Wikipedia is a virtual collaborative effort between internet users to create an online encyclopaedia. You can even contribute information by clicking the “edit this page” tab. It is a good place to start for research. • We are told not to use it for research but everyone knows we use it to start off with. • Bear in mind that it should only be a starting point as the information provided is very general and possible unreliable. • You can click the citations at the end of the article to get further and more in-depth information.

6. The News • For current events, the news is always good for getting the background information and the narrative behind a particular event. • We’ve all probably heard of how traditional news publications have to compete with the internet. Now they’re taking advantage of it by posting all their publications online! • Bear in mind that news is rather heavy on the narrative and light on the analysis. • Also, bear in mind the editorial bias of each news publications that may colour how reporters report the news (i.e. Toronto Star is more left leaning than say, the Globe and Mail, which is more in the centre with the National Post being more right-leaning).

7. When looking for news on a specific country, it is best to use regional and local news sources to get a more “insider’s perspective.” (i.e. for news on say China, try a newspaper based in China. There are plenty of English based news dailies you can read if you can’t read Chinese.) • A good place for where to find local news sources is to use the BBC Country profiles (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/country_profiles/default.stm) and check under the “Media” heading where it will list all the newspapers, news agencies, radio stations and television stations in that country.

8. Magazines • Magazines offer more of an analytical perspective than say the news. While the analysis is not exactly up to the standards of a scholar, they can nonetheless provide useful contemporary insight. • Like traditional news publications, most now post their content online to keep up. • Magazines can cover many things from culture, to fashion or current affairs. For our purposes, we look mostly at current affairs magazines. • Like the news, they have an editorial bias but are more upfront about it.

9. A list of possible news magazines you could read up on Macleans (http://www2.macleans.ca/) – the Canadian weekly news magazine. Slate (www.slate.com) – a daily online magazine. The Economist (www.economist.com) - a British based weekly internal current affairs magazine. New Yorker (www.newyorker.com) – a New York based culture and current affairs magazine Foreign Policy (www.foreignpolicy.com) – a bimonthly magazine focussing on international issues and economics The Atlantic (www.theatlantic.com) – a magazine that reports on current cultural trends, politics and foreign affairs as well

10. News Aggregators • News agregators tend to be a blend of news and blogs. They are sites that collect the news and bloggers will often follow up on them with commentary or provide original commentary on them. They would be considered a form of new media. • They are useful for being a one-stop site for significant news stories and commentary for the day. also write from an editorial stance and make it very explicit they are doing so.

11. Some news aggregators would include: -The Huffington Post (www.huffingtonpost.com) -RealClearWorld (www.realclearworld.com) -RealClearPolitics (www.realclearpolitics.com TalkingPointsMemo (www.talkingpointsmemo.com) The Daily Beast (www.thedailybeast.com Drudge Report (www.drudgereport.com)

12. Research Articles • Research articles are difficult to get your hands on but if you know where to look, it are not too difficult. For one, there are subscription service research articles (and they are very pricey if you pay for it yourself) and public access ones.

13. Public Access • There are a lot of research reports that are drafted by government agencies, think tanks or NGOs that anyone can view. Sometimes, you may have to sign up for the service but you can view the reports for free. • A good list of think tanks, research NGOs and policy makers can be found at Foreign Policy’s Think Tank Index (http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4598).

14. Subscription Service • Subscription service access to research articles are often paid for by institutions. In our cases (we all go to the University of Toronto), we use Scholar’s Portal by simply inputting our student ID and password. • Talk to your school librarian to see how to access them. • Sometimes, public libraries will have access to some scholarly databases as well. You could ask your librarian for them.

15. Critically Evaluating Internet Sources • Agenda • Types of sources available • Primary, Secondary Tertiary • Print vs. Internet sources • Criteria for Evaluating Resources

16. Types of Sources • Primary • Original source, first hand knowledge • Fieldwork, interviews, surveys etc. • Secondary • An analysis of primary sources • Textbooks, dictionaries • Tertiary • Compilation of primary and secondary sources

17. Print vs. Internet Sources

18. Quick Tips • Some quick ways to filter our sources • Look at the URL • Separate out personal websites • Usually have geocities, yahoo, aol, rogers etc. • Usually incorporates the persons name (i.e. TSarmiento) • Shows source of domain • Government, profit, non profit, research institution, educational institution etc. • .gov, .edu, .org etc. • Can show country of domain (Canada, US, UK etc.) • .ca, .us, .uk • Gradually becoming less secure

19. Evaluation of Internet Resources • Content Credibility: • Organization • Mission Statement, Goals, Philosophy etc. • Author • Accomplishments, work experience • Publisher • Is the publisher credible? • Quality Control • Frequency of updated content

20. Content Accuracy • Up to date and relevant information • Documentation of sources • Without documentation sources is just an opinion piece • Exceptions would be journalist articles from large newspapers. • More documentation = more insights = better chance of understanding entire picture

21. Objectivity • Fair, balanced, and logical insight • Observe the tone in which the information is conveyed • Be critical of aggressive, angry, emotional tones • May result in one sided argument • Look for a more calm reasonable tone • More likely to look at all sides of an argument before making an conclusion

22. A Guide to Search Operators Search operators are terms that are used to narrow or broaden a search. The operators allow one to save time and frustration while researching by specifying the search results. Common search operators are the Boolean operators i.e. AND, OR, and NOT.

23. The OR operator • Most of the time search engines consider all words in a search. To specifically allow either one of several words, you can use the OR operator (note: the OR operator must be always in CAPS). If I want to search for the G8 Summit 2008 OR 2009, I will get results for either one of these years. However, if I search G8 Summit 2008 2009, I will get results that shows pages that include both years in the same page. The symbol | can be substituted for OR.

24. The AND operator • This operator is a default when searching; thus, it is not needed.Want to exclude terms, use ­ operator. Adding the minus sign i.e., - before a word tells the search engine that you don’t want pages containing that word to appear in the results. For example, if I want to search for anti-virus, but exclude references to software, I will type anti-virus –software. The NOT operator could also be used for similar purposes; however, it is not as effective as the – operator.

25. Wildcard or fill in the blanks (*) If you include * within a query, search engines treat the star as a placeholder for unknown term(s) and then find the best matches. In other words, it tells the search engine to use variations of that word.This operator must be used on full words, not part words. The following example shows that the Clinton’s different responses on different bills.

26. Using the “”operator • By putting double quotes around a set of words, you are telling the search engines to consider the exact words in that exact order without any change. Search for the exact words using the+ operator. • Sometimes search engines help you search more than they need to. For example, if I search ca history, I will also get results for California history as well. To avoid this add + operator before ca history, so it will be +ca history (avoid space between + and your search)

27. Search within a specific website using the site: operator • You can specify that search results should be of a given website. For example, if I want to search for Iraq in New York Times website, then I will type Iraq site: nytimes.com i.e. the topic I am searching for, followed by the :site operatorand the link to the website.

28. Know Your Search Engines • No matter which topic you are searching on, you are likely to use search engines. However, the problem with search engines is that you either get too many or too little hits.Q: What can help you avoid a lot of frustration and wasted time? A: Spending some time learning what each search engine does and how best to use it.

29. Most of time it is better to narrow the search results by searching within a specific subject. There are several high quality peer-reviewed subject directories containing links selected by subject experts. Some good examples are INFOMINE, InfoSurf, Acadamic Info, and BUBL Link/ 5:15. For instance, BUBL Link/5:15 provides a menu of subjects that allows you to search within a particular subject, saving a lot of time.

30. Search engines can be very diverse. Here are some examples. General Search Engines: Google, Ask. Com, Yahoo! Search Questions & Answers Search Engines: Human answers: Yahoo! Answers Automatic answers: AskMeNow News: Google News, Yahoo!News Maps: Google Maps, MapQuest

31. Conclusion Researching can be a difficult and frustrating process. The key to easing the process is following the right steps to find valuable sources without wasting too much time i.e., knowing about the types of sources available on the Internet, critically evaluating sources, and narrowing you searches.