NextGen
Research Tools
Web 2.0 technologies for web-based research
Overview
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Showcase of a variety of next generation
research tools for those who are ready to
move beyond the traditional library
catalogs and databases.
Learn to employ a host of web-based
technologies for your research, including
Zotero, the Google suite, worldcat.org,
and a variety of research alert services.
Outline
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Finding things
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Saving & Citing things
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Working wisely
What is Web 2.0?
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A term often applied to a perceived ongoing
transition of the World Wide Web from a
collection of websites to a full-fledged
computing platform serving web applications
to end users. It refers to a supposed secondgeneration of Internet-based services—such as
social networking sites, wikis, communication
tools, and folksonomies—that emphasize online
collaboration and sharing among users.
http://www.2020systems.com/internet-ad-glossary-r-z.html
What is NextGen Research?
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Web-based tools and services that can
readily assist scholars with their
research
Methods for managing information in
an increasingly web-based research
environment
Glossary
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Folksonomy: The result of personal free tagging of
information and objects (anything with a URL) for
one’s own retrieval.
RSS Feeds: automatic updates for blogs, news
feeds, and other routinely updated web sites that
can be sent to you via e-mail or blog readers.
Tags / Tag Clouds: Tags are user-generated terms
which describe the subject of a web page, blog
entry, article, etc. Tag clouds are visual depictions of
tags organized and weighted by popularity.
Finding things
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Google Book Search – search the
full-text of books online.
Google Scholar – search, find,
locate articles, abstracts & citations.
Worldcat.org – find items in libraries
near you.
Finding things, cont.
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Web and Database alert services
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News: Google, Yahoo!, BBC, CNN
Databases: ERIC, ProQuest, PsychInfo,
etc.
RSS feeds and Readers
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Get alerts through email or through
readers
Bloglines: http://bloglines.com
 Google Reader or Yahoo!
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Finding things, cont.
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Keotag: search for tags across 14 different
sites.
Google Advanced: set specific parameters
for your search including by date.
Exalead.com: search engine with visual
preview of websites and multimedia and
related terms
Chacha.com: text message reference service. Send
questions to ChaCha (242242) and receive an
answer in minutes. (Not a great tool for reference
questions but fun to try….standard texting rates
apply!)
Saving & Citing things
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Save the things you find using bibliographic
management tools like:
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Zotero: free, works with Firefox, created at GMU
DEVONthink: stores your emails, documents, etc in
one place using artificial intelligence, only for Macs. Free
trial, then pay if you like.
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Del.icio.us: social bookmarking site to save, share,
manage websites
Cite the things you find using your preferred citation style
For more citation help:
http://infoguides.gmu.edu/citationmanagement
Working wisely
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Working collaboratively
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Access issues
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Google Docs: create, edit, share docs,
presentations, spreadsheets
Notecentric: store and share your class notes online
Bubbl.us: brainstorm and create online mind maps
I.P. address authentication if you search library
databases from off-campus
Free vs. subscription
Tips for evaluating websites
http://library.gmu.edu/mudge/Dox/webeval.html
Questions????
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Do you have any questions??
References
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Bates, Mary Ellen. “Mary Ellen Bates - sites from Computers in Libraries 2008,” April
2008. http://batesinfo.com/cil2008.html.
Dorris, Erin, Abe Korah, and Tyler Manolovitz. “Next-Generation Collaboration: 21st
Century Tools for Scholarly Research and Communication,” March 27, 2008.
http://library.shsu.edu/collab.pdf.
Hupp, Jessica. “e-Learning Reloaded: Top 50 Web 2.0 Tools for Info Junkies,
Researchers & Students | OEDb,” February 18, 2008. http://oedb.org/library/beginningonline-learning/e-learning-reloaded:-top-50-web-2.0-tools-for-info-junkies,researchers-&-students.
Vander Wal, Thomas. “Folksonomy Coinage and Definition,” February 2, 2007.
http://www.vanderwal.net/folksonomy.html.
Contacts:
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Allison O’Connor
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JCL Reference Assistant,
aoconnor@gmu.edu
April Kelley
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ACL Reference Assistant,
akelley3@gmu.edu