Lecture Summary
Today we discussed the group assignment at the start of the lecture and then we moved onto the basic tutorial on end note. During the tutorial we answered 3 basic questions.
1. What is end note?
2. How does end note work?
3. Why use end note?
What is end note
End note is an online archive of references that can be accessed at any time. It is searchable through author name, abstracts of text, year of publish and much more.
How does end note work?
End note works as both a stand alone program and an integrarated program through microsoft word on both vista and xp. End note is able to create the perfect refrence and changes for diffrent styles.
Why use end note?
You should use end note to keep all your references orgainsed. It is much easier to find the reference to go with that quote stuck in your head through end note than it is to look through pages and pages of references. It is also useful to change styles of referencing quickly and aquratly.
Tutorial Summary
Today in the tutorial we discussed further the program called end note. We were given references to put into end note and then we had to use those references to create the cite while you write document. By using end note it made the cite while you write document alot easier to edit because with just a click of a button you could insert the correct citation and an automatic end text references would be put at the bottom of the page to go with the in text reference.
Screen Shots
Here are the screen shots of todays work. Please click on the words to go to the screen shots.
~ End Note
~ Cite While You Write 1
~ Cite While You Write 2
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Week 6 - Evaluation and Authentication
Lecture Summary
Today in the lecutre we discussed ways that we could evaluate and authenticate the content of webpages. It is important to look at the content of webpages before deciding if it is useful in your research. In order to evaluate and authenticate a webpage it is nessisary to put together a framework that you can follow. A framework may consist of multiple questions you may ask yourself in order to decide on the reliability of a source.
Readings summary
readings 1: chucking the checklist - a contextual approach to teaching undergraduates website evaluation.
This article is all about not using a checklist to evaluate the usefulness of a website. It argues that librarians have been saying for years that students should be taught to use a more contextual method of website evaluation. The librarians believe that teaching correct website evaluation is nessisary because anyone can publish on the world wide web and they dont have to go through a filter to make sure that what they are posting is authentic. The entire argument is basically the debate between the librarians and the general public over wether or not the internet should have so called 'gate keepers' to make sure all information posted is of an authentic and reliable nature. It also provides a look into the 27 questions created by Jim Kapoun under the headings of accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency and coverage.
readings 2: Thinking critically about world wide web recourses.
this article provides more evaluation questions that you should ask yourself
Today in the lecutre we discussed ways that we could evaluate and authenticate the content of webpages. It is important to look at the content of webpages before deciding if it is useful in your research. In order to evaluate and authenticate a webpage it is nessisary to put together a framework that you can follow. A framework may consist of multiple questions you may ask yourself in order to decide on the reliability of a source.
Tutorial Summary
Readings summary
readings 1: chucking the checklist - a contextual approach to teaching undergraduates website evaluation.
This article is all about not using a checklist to evaluate the usefulness of a website. It argues that librarians have been saying for years that students should be taught to use a more contextual method of website evaluation. The librarians believe that teaching correct website evaluation is nessisary because anyone can publish on the world wide web and they dont have to go through a filter to make sure that what they are posting is authentic. The entire argument is basically the debate between the librarians and the general public over wether or not the internet should have so called 'gate keepers' to make sure all information posted is of an authentic and reliable nature. It also provides a look into the 27 questions created by Jim Kapoun under the headings of accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency and coverage.
readings 2: Thinking critically about world wide web recourses.
this article provides more evaluation questions that you should ask yourself
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Week 5 - Search Engines
1. Lecture summary
Todays lecture was all about search engines. Most of us use one search engine and we use it without the knowledge that there is not much use in the first few pages of work that comes up with our generalised search of for example fashion. At the start of the lecture we were asked to answer a few simple questions:
* List at least 4 search engines ?
- yahoo
- google
- dog pile
- ninemsn
* what are some of the problems you encounter when using search engines?
- information that is un-truthful & wrong
- Getting the first page filled with irrelevant things that you accidently use
- you generally choose the first listing and use it.
* what are some strategies that you use to over come these problems?
- use the advanced search option that is on most search engines
- take a look at say the 3rd of 4th pages of search results because you can find some really good information there.
- dont just use the first two listings that you get because it doesnt mean they are truthful and reliable it could just be that the person who owns the site paid the search engine and thats why they are on top.
* what is meant by the boolean search?
- The boolean search is using such words as and or not in a search term. For example Mercedes not Car [so you would get all listings that wernt about the car but about perhaps the name] and apple and ipod [this way you wont be getting any irrelivant search results to do with the apple as in the food & you will get the results you want]
* what are some features of the advanced search in google?
- The advanced search option in google is great. You have the choice to put in a general web search at the top and then you can type in the exact phrasing that you would like to be in the results and then you can type in the type of document you would like to be found wether it be a slide show or a pdf.
Overall from the lecture we have learnt how to use search engines more wisely and treat all inforrmation we get from them with catution. And that google is not the only search engine out there and sometimes you can get diffrent results from diffrent search engines.
2. Tutorial summary
a) How to structure a good search according to www.monash.com/spidap.html :
* If you are unclear as to where you should start searching if you are doing an assignment you should use an open directory such as google or yahoo; However if you have a clean idea as to what it is you are searching for you can use a web directory and this will provide you with more concentrated results.
* To search you should use keywords that are common to the subject your are searching but un-common to most other things to minimise the amount of un-useful search results.
* You should attempt to use the advanced search option of open directory to make sure that all information you get is relevant to the subject.
* Try using a boolean search; this means including words such as: and, not, & or; by doing this you reduce the amount of search results.
b) list the strategies that you used to locate your answers and explain their effectiveness:
I didnt really use a strategie to find the answers to my questions i basically just used google, because the questions had common knowledge answers to them. It was highly effecitve as i found all the right answers.
c) summarize what you have learnt during this module about information found on the internet and ways to find tinformation using search engines.
During this module i have learnt that i need to refine my searches alot more that i do through open directories to make sure the information i get is authentic and reliable.
3. screen shots.
quiz results page
4. reading summary 1 - robert harris - web search strategies
Through the reading of this article i have learnt that There are diffrent types of web catagories. they are:
- The free visible web which is basically what you can find through search engines.
- The free invisible web which is articles and documents free to web browsers if they can find it.
- Paid databases over the web which are a collection of journals, articles and documents but you can only access them if you pay money to the host of the database.
There are also two diffrent types of search tools those are the search engines such as google and yahoo and then there are directories which are lists of websites that are chosen by human editors these websites should be always usful and reliable.
5. reading 2 summary - the history of the intenet (chap 4 - search engines)
Todays lecture was all about search engines. Most of us use one search engine and we use it without the knowledge that there is not much use in the first few pages of work that comes up with our generalised search of for example fashion. At the start of the lecture we were asked to answer a few simple questions:
* List at least 4 search engines ?
- yahoo
- dog pile
- ninemsn
* what are some of the problems you encounter when using search engines?
- information that is un-truthful & wrong
- Getting the first page filled with irrelevant things that you accidently use
- you generally choose the first listing and use it.
* what are some strategies that you use to over come these problems?
- use the advanced search option that is on most search engines
- take a look at say the 3rd of 4th pages of search results because you can find some really good information there.
- dont just use the first two listings that you get because it doesnt mean they are truthful and reliable it could just be that the person who owns the site paid the search engine and thats why they are on top.
* what is meant by the boolean search?
- The boolean search is using such words as and or not in a search term. For example Mercedes not Car [so you would get all listings that wernt about the car but about perhaps the name] and apple and ipod [this way you wont be getting any irrelivant search results to do with the apple as in the food & you will get the results you want]
* what are some features of the advanced search in google?
- The advanced search option in google is great. You have the choice to put in a general web search at the top and then you can type in the exact phrasing that you would like to be in the results and then you can type in the type of document you would like to be found wether it be a slide show or a pdf.
Overall from the lecture we have learnt how to use search engines more wisely and treat all inforrmation we get from them with catution. And that google is not the only search engine out there and sometimes you can get diffrent results from diffrent search engines.
2. Tutorial summary
a) How to structure a good search according to www.monash.com/spidap.html :
* If you are unclear as to where you should start searching if you are doing an assignment you should use an open directory such as google or yahoo; However if you have a clean idea as to what it is you are searching for you can use a web directory and this will provide you with more concentrated results.
* To search you should use keywords that are common to the subject your are searching but un-common to most other things to minimise the amount of un-useful search results.
* You should attempt to use the advanced search option of open directory to make sure that all information you get is relevant to the subject.
* Try using a boolean search; this means including words such as: and, not, & or; by doing this you reduce the amount of search results.
b) list the strategies that you used to locate your answers and explain their effectiveness:
I didnt really use a strategie to find the answers to my questions i basically just used google, because the questions had common knowledge answers to them. It was highly effecitve as i found all the right answers.
c) summarize what you have learnt during this module about information found on the internet and ways to find tinformation using search engines.
During this module i have learnt that i need to refine my searches alot more that i do through open directories to make sure the information i get is authentic and reliable.
3. screen shots.
quiz results page
4. reading summary 1 - robert harris - web search strategies
Through the reading of this article i have learnt that There are diffrent types of web catagories. they are:
- The free visible web which is basically what you can find through search engines.
- The free invisible web which is articles and documents free to web browsers if they can find it.
- Paid databases over the web which are a collection of journals, articles and documents but you can only access them if you pay money to the host of the database.
There are also two diffrent types of search tools those are the search engines such as google and yahoo and then there are directories which are lists of websites that are chosen by human editors these websites should be always usful and reliable.
5. reading 2 summary - the history of the intenet (chap 4 - search engines)
This article showed us the various things that have been created along with the web throughout the years. As well as the information on how to find just what you want on the web which is basically what the last article outlined and went over. This article provides the same information about the web that the last one did but it also included a list of directories and their urls which was helpful.
6. Reading 3 summary - Search engine optimization for companies.
this article is mostly aimed at those that own companies and it tells them how to get the top spot in search engine searches with multiple keywords. It explains the need to set a benchmark for your companies website and show how much some key words are getting searched, this way you can monitor your companies popularity and see which words are not getting searched. This article is aimed as a selling point for companies that cant set up their own website and that want to have the best chance at getting searched in search engines as possible.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
