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Research Strategies

Research Strategies. Learning Commons Seneca@York. Game Plan for today. I’ll talk for 20-30 minutes A hands-on exercise, 10-15 minutes I’ll talk about information evaluation and plagiarism issues for 5-10 minutes. Know the Rules of the “Game”. Know where to look.

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Research Strategies

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  1. Research Strategies Learning Commons Seneca@York

  2. Game Plan for today • I’ll talk for 20-30 minutes • A hands-on exercise, 10-15 minutes • I’ll talk about information evaluation and plagiarism issues for 5-10 minutes. (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  3. Know the Rules of the “Game” • Know where to look. • If you cannot find “it” in 20 minutes, ask for help. Reference Desk, Ask LCO Live. • Just because it exists does not mean you can get it. • Choosing the right search terms is key to success. Use the “Lingo” of the field. • Iterate. (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  4. Starting Your Research • What kind of information am I looking for? Facts? Research? News? Current? Historical? Local/National/International? • Where and how do I search for this information? • Once I have found some information, how can I tell if it is useful? How do I find more similar information? (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  5. Sources of Information – “Containers” Sources of information are: books, encyclopedia, directories, almanacs, articles from periodicals, internet sites Current news, events, research: periodicals such as newspapers, magazines, journals Facts, definitions, summaries:almanac, atlas, dictionary, directory, encyclopedia, handbook, thesauri, yearbook In-depth analysis of a subject: bibliography, biography, guide, report… “books” (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  6. Sources of Information (2) Magazine - popular work - written for layperson - glossy, coloured - many pictures and photographs - ads - available from supermarkets and convenient stores Journal - scholarly work - articles are written by experts in the field for a limited audience - abstract, keywords - references / bibliography - high-quality paper - page number does not always start at 1 - peer reviewed VS. (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  7. Information Formats INFORMATION PRINT ELECTRONIC LCO DATABASES Via web, $$$$$ FREE WEB (Internet) (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  8. Where do I look? Where can I access? • “Free Web” • “$$$$ Web” or “Deep Web” • Physical Library/Information Commons (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  9. Search Engines ‘crawl’ through ALL the Web … think again "surface" Web • 2.5 billion documents • rate of growth of 7.3 million pages per day Bergman, Michael. "The Deep Web: Surfacing Hidden Value" The Journal of Electronic Publishing August 2001. <http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/07-01/bergman.html> "hidden" Web • 550 billion web-connected documents • contained in specialized Web-accessible databases and dynamic web sites (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  10. Fake!!! (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  11. Newsgroups = on-line discussion group (Webopedia) • Began in 1979 as a few electronic bulletin boards (BBS) hosted at Duke University. • Today, millions, hosted around the world. • Deja News 1995 -> Google Feb. 2001 • Search by group name (roots) or by subject thread. • moderated or unmoderated (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  12. Other Forums • Blogs (e.g., slashdot) A frequent, chronological publication of personal / collaborative thoughts and Web links • Independent Web message boards (e.g., ezboard) • Discussion Groups (Yahoo, AOL, MSN, ICQ) A group of people who exchange messages about topics of common interest. (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  13. Internet Search Engines Specialized news search engines, such as Yahoo!News, AltaVista News provide up-to-date news from various Web sources http://www.searchenginewatch.com/links/news.html (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  14. $$$$$ Web Accessible Info Article Databases Abstract + citation Abstract + citation + full-text (pdf, html) Example: articles in newspapers, magazines, journals, Directories, Dictionaries, Handbooks, Encyclopedias, etc. Quick fact lookup tools Example: Encyclopedia articles, word definitions, physical constants, corporate contact information, etc. (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  15. Database Prickliness • Exact matching • Boolean Operators • Free-text vs Controlled word lists • Field limitation. • Missing content: - Graphics, photographs. - NY Times vs Tasini judgment - Short runs - Which edition? - Newspapers..no classified, ads, etc. (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  16. Creating an Effective Search 1. Define your topic 2. Write your research question 3. Choose keywords 4. Consider alternate keywords 5. Build your research statement (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  17. Example Topic: Cuban Americans and U.S. Foreign Policy towards Cuba Subject: Cuba, Foreign Policy, Immigration Research Question: How much influence do Cuban Americans have in setting American Foreign policy towards Cuba AND AND Cuba Latin America Caribbean Fidel Castro Foreign Policy International Relations Trade Embargo Cold War Immigration Immigrants Exiles Mariel Boat Lift OR OR (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  18. Example (cont’d) Sample search statement: (“Cuba” OR “Latin America” OR “Caribbean”) AND (foreign policy OR international relations OR trade embargo) AND (immigration OR immigrants OR exiles) AND (Cuban Americans OR Latin Americans) (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  19. Searching Tips Search by keyword OR browse through options Help / Examples Limit to title, author, subject, publication, etc. Boolean = AND (narrows), OR (expands), NOT, etc. (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  20. Accessing the Site (LCO) http://learningcommons.senecacollege.ca For full-time students:  At Seneca  From your home computer using • Seneca as your Internet Service Provider (ISP) • Any other ISP => use your learn e-mail username and password to remotely access the electronic research databases (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  21. Accessing the Site (LCO) http://learningcommons.senecacollege.ca For part-time students:  At Seneca, all resources available  At home or work, resources that have the globe icon will be accessible remotely using your own ISP and Seneca email username At home or work, resources with a telephone or CD icon will NOT be accessible to you: (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  22. Exercise Find 1) news article article 2) a research article that investigates NIMBYism focusing on locating homeless shelters in suburban neighborhoods (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  23. Is this Information Useful? Authority Date Subject/Topic Coverage Bias / Voice Consult: LCO -> Getting Started -> How to Evaluate… (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  24. Evaluating Information from the Internet is just like Detective Work What do you need to validate information you found on the Internet? • source (author, institute / organization, publication information) • creation / update date • purpose of the content or: Is there a hidden agenda not readily apparent? (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  25. What’s Odd About This? Search Engine Watch INT Media Group isn't the homepage for the entire Web, but it does put a lot of Net information within reach of your mouse. Targeting industry professionals, the company (formerly internet.com) publishes Internet industry news, product reviews, and how-to guides on about 160 Web sites in its network of information channels. It also sends out almost 300 e-newsletters and hosts about 400 online discussion forums. INT Media Group has purchased a string of Web sites and newsletters from EarthWeb and also hosts 40 IT and Internet-related seminars. The company generates most of its sales through advertising. Chairman and CEO Alan Meckler, founder of Mecklermedia, owns 52% of INT Media Group. (Hoovers Online, January 2002) (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  26. Plagiarism and you: According to the Seneca College Student Handbook, plagiarism is “the inclusion of another’s words, phrases, sentences or entire passages in work which you claim as your own.” Consult: LCO -> Getting Started -> Plagiarism (Information for Students) (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  27. Citing your information sources When conducting research, you must properly acknowledge the sources of information you have used... This is commonly referred to a Works Cited Page/List or Bibliography. • LCO -> Quick Reference Tools -> Style Guides / Citing Information -> APA Style Guide (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

  28. And of Course... If you have any questions or need help finding information, don’t forget the Reference Desk! (c)2002 James Buczynski, Jane Foo

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