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2/18/13
San Jose State University
LIBR 210-02 (27088)
Biographical Sources Assignment
Hui Hua Li
Professor: Steve Tash
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Edgar Allen Poe
1) Using keyword search “Edgar Allen Poe biography,” produces 2 results, but they are outdated
which are 1902 and 1965. Using keyword search “Poe, Edgar Allen biography”, produces more
relevant and current results. For instance: Poe / James M. Hutchisson is 2005 edition. I type “Poe,
Edgar Allen” into the subject search, it shows no result and suggests me to search with “Poe,
Edgar Allan instead because “Poe, Edgar Allen is not used in this library’s catalog. I click the
link Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849 – Biography and leads to two biographies about Poe, Edgar
Allan. They are 1991and 1978. Based upon these searches, I conclude that some database might
recognize different spelling as for name. Also, it is good to search several times with different
word order and techniques to find the desired results.
2) Biography Reference Bank & Biography and Genealogy Master Index: Entering Poe, Edgar
Allen in BRB search box does not produce any result. But it suggests me to enter Poe, Edgar
Allan instead. Twenty-three results produce from BRB when the limiter “Biographies” is
selected, and only one is correct. Four results can be found on the Biography and Genealogy
Master Index, but not all relevant because of different middle name and the year of birth. Poe,
Edgar Allen (1809-1849) is the relevant record. From BRB, I can find more info about Edgar
Allen Poe: Born on January19, 1809, Massachusetts. Die on October 07, 1849. Occupation:
American poet, short story writer and essayist. Related Biographies and related information links.
From BGMI, I can find source citations about Edgar Allen Poe.
3) Literature Resource: Conducting a subject search and limiter biographies for Poe, Edgar Allen,
produces only 2 results. Since I know Poe’s middle name can be Allan from the second question,
I type Poe, Edgar Allan which brings 21 results. About 8 results are the relevant records. The
biographical essays lay out the biographical information, major works, analysis of writing style
of Edgar Allen Poe and further readings.
4) American National Biography: A search by name Poe, Edgar Allen produces one match result.
By clicking the link under the name of Poe, Edgar Allen, it shows a biographical article about
Poe, Edgar Allen with his photo. The article describes major events and the key achievements of
Poe, Edgar Allen from his birth to death in chronological order. Below the article, it also
provides a bibliography and online sources. On the left column, it provides cross-reference
linking information of another person who appears in the biographical article. The major
difference between American National Biography and Literature Resource Center is ANB traces
the private life of deceased Americans from his/her birth to death while LRC focus more
describing major works of a person.
5) General Internet (i.e. Google, Wikipeida,etc): On the Google search bar, when I type “Edgar
Allen Poe” and biography, I can receive 2,030,000 results. But not all results are relevant. The
Poe’s life Edgar Allan Poe Museum website has a creditable biographical article of Edgar Allen
Poe. Wikipedia offers some questionable information on Edgar Allen Poe. Gale Americian
National Biograhpy Online provides a biography and further readings of Poe. Poets.org provides
a short biography and selected bibliography. Using Google Scholar with Edgar Allen Poe, I can
find 19,000 results. It shows a few books name about Edgar Allen Poe, and a few are Poe’s
biographical books.
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Marie Curie (scientist)
1) Using the term “Marie Curie biography” in the keyword search produces 58 results. Many
records are relevant, but many are not about Marie Curie as well. Using a subject search, the
term “Curie, Marie” brings a list and categorized by topic. The eighth item on the list Curie,
Marie, 1967-1934 leads to 41 results. These results are not the same as the records came from the
keyword search. The subject search generates more relevant results. Based upon these searches, I
conclude that using different search methods can produce different results. In order to get the
best and accurate results, I need to try different searching methods.
2) Biography Reference Bank & Biography and Genealogy Master Index: one results from BRB
when the limiter “Biographies” is selected. Six results on the Biography and Genealogy Master
Index. All these records are relevant after examining the name and year of birth. From BRB, I
can find more info about Marie Curie: also known as Marie Skiodowska Curie. Born on
Novermber 07, 1867, Poland. Die on July 04, 1937. Occupation: Polish chemist. Related
Biographies and related information links. From BGMI, I can find source citations about Marie
Curie.
5) On the Google search bar, when I type “Marie Curie” and biography, I can receive 1,610,000
results. But not all results are relevant. The Nobel Prize website has a creditable biographical
article of Marie Curie. Wikipedia offers some questionable information on Marie Curie. Gale
Cengage Learning provides a short biography and further readings of Curie. Encyclopedia of
World Biography provides some information regarding her early life, career, recognition, and
later years. Using Google Scholar, I can find 5690 results, but many are book reviews and
articles about Marie Curie, not with biographical content.
Michael Jordan (basketball player)
1) Conducting a subject search for “Jordan, Michael” produces 8 subject results. When the first
link Jordan, Michael, 1963—is selected, 28 results are provided. Most results are about Michael
Jordan. Conducting a subject search but with different techniques. In the advance search, I type
“Jordan, Michael” in one subject box, then type “biography*” in another subject box. It gives me
26 results. However, those 26 results are not exactly the same as 28 results. Based upon these
searches, I conclude that with subject search, using the advance search operator can give a
chance to look for more desired results.
2) Biography Reference Bank & Biography and Genealogy Master Index: two results from BRB
when the limiter “Biographies” is selected. Fifty-four results on the Biography and Genealogy
Master Index. Two results from BRB which are Jordan, Michael H and Jordan, Michael. Only
one result is correct. Fifty-four results on the BGMI are not all relevant because of different
middle name and the year of birth. Michael Jordan’s middle name is Jeffery and was born in
1963. Therefore, it is necessary to know the middle name and year of birth to get the accurate
results. From BRB, I can find more info about Michael Jordan: Born on 2/17/1963-present, New
York. Occupation: American basketball player. Related Biographies and related information
links. From BGMI, I can find source citations about Michael Jordan.
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5) On the Google search bar, when I type “Michael Jordan” and biography, I can receive
3,930,000 results. But not all results are relevant. The websites of www.espn.go.com and
nba.com provide biographical articles of Michael Jordan. Wikipedia offers some questionable
information on Michael Jordan. Encyclopedia of World Biography provides some information
regarding his early life, early pro year, unexpected retirement, return to glory, and retire again.
Using Google Scholar, I can find 5690 results, but many are book reviews and articles about
Michael Jordan, not with biographical content.
Robert Frost (Poet)
1) Conducting a subject search for “Frost, Robert” produces 40 subject results. When the correct
link Frost, Robert, 1874-1963—Biography is selected, 5 results are provided. The 5 biographies
are not current, ranging from 1966-1996. I type “Frost, Robert Biography” in the keyword search
box, it comes in 29 results. Although not all results are relevant, I find one book Robert Frost : a
life / Jay Parini is 1999. Based upon these searches, I conclude that in order to find the most
current biographical works, it is necessary to try different ways of search using different terms.
2) Biography Reference Bank & Biography and Genealogy Master Index: one results from BRB
when the limiter “Biographies” is selected. Forty results show on the Biography and Genealogy
Master Index. Forty results are on the BGMI, but many are not relevant records. About five
records are relevant according to Robert Frost (1874-1963) or Robert Frost Lee (1874-1963).
From BRB, I can find more info about Robert Frost: Born on March 26, 1874, California. Die on
June 29, 1963. Occupation: American poet. Related Biographies and related information links.
From BGMI, I can find source citations about Robert Frost.
3) Literature Resource: Conducting a subject search and limiter biographies for “Frost, Robert”,
produces 19 results. Since I know Robert Frost’s middle name and his year of birth from the
second question, I can identify about 6 results are the relevant records. From BRB, I learned that
Robert Frost was in California. From the biographical essays of Literature Resources, I learned
more specific information that Robert Frost was born in San Francisco. The biographical essays
lay out the biographical information, major works, analysis of writing style of Robert Frost and
further reading.
4) American National Biography: A search by name “Frost, Robert” produces one match result.
By clicking the link under the name of Frost, Robert, it shows a biographical article about Frost,
Robert with his photo. Similar to other articles, this article follows the same writing style based
on chronology. It introduces Robert Frost’s family background, childhood, education, career,
works and major events. Some details of private life can be discovered too such as his wife
insisted on secrecy after his marriage proposal.
5) On the Google search bar, when I typed “Robert Frost” and biography, I can receive
8,140,000 results. But not all results are relevant. The poet.org provides a short and creditable
biography of Robert Frost with selected bibliography. Wikipedia offers some questionable
information on Robert Frost. Encyclopedia of World Biography provides some information
regarding his early year, creation of the poet, later work, and personal tragedies. Using Google
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Scholar, I can find 32,600 results, but many are books related to Robert Frost. A few of them are
biography.
Stephen King (author)
1) Conducting a keyword search for “Stephen King Biography” produces 34 results, but not all
are relevant to Stephen King biography. When I type “King,Stephen biography” into the
Keyword search, it appears 9 results. Based upon these searches, I conclude that different word
orders in searching can affect the searching results.
2) Biography Reference Bank & Biography and Genealogy Master Index: two results from BRB
when the limiter “Biographies” is selected. Sixty-three results on the Biography and Genealogy
Master Index. Two results from BRB which are King, Stephen and Erkel, Ferenc. Erkel, Ferenc
is not the relevant record. Sixty-three results are on the BGMI, but many are not relevant records.
About six records are relevant according to Stephen King Edward or Stephen King E or Stephen
King (1947-). From BRB, I can find more info about Stephen King: also known as Richard
Bachaman. Born on Stepember 21, 1947, Marine. Occupation: American novelist and short story
writer. Related Biographies and related information links. From BGMI, I can find source
citations about Stephen King.
3) Literature Resource: Conducting a subject search and limiter biographies for “King, Stephen,”
produces 16 results. About 10 results are the relevant records. Many of the relevant records are
biographical essays. These biographical essays touch more on the author’s literature contribution
instead of focusing on Stephen King’s private life. From the analysis of Stephen King’s famous
works, I learned that Stephen King is a writer of horror fiction. Most records include the title of
the essay, author, document type, and works of the author. Besides the full text of biographical
essay, the records also list different sources regarding Stephen King such as television, recording,
motion pictures, further readings and source citations.
5) On the Google search bar, when I type “Stephen King” and biography, I can receive 5,350,000
results. But not all results are relevant. Famousauthor.org provides a short biography with some
recommended books written by Stephen King. Wikipedia offers some questionable information
on Stephen King. Encyclopedia of World Biography provides some information regarding his
early life, after college, the popularity, the accident, and his influence on the social Medias.
Using Google Scholar, I can find 120,000 results, but many are books related to other subjects.
6. Answer in length based on Public Library Experience.
I chose www.sfpl.org to compare the results. From the home of San Francisco Public Library
catalog, I entered Jordan, Michael in the subject box, and received 24 results, but about 18
biography records. Then on the databases page, I found biography in context (Gale) database.
When I typed Jordan, Michael on the Name search box, it shows a list of name beginning with
“Jordan, Michael,” I selected “Jordan, Michael (American basketball player)” then clicked
search button. It provides one record with the picture of Jordan, Michael. Besides the main text
of biographical essay, it combines many creditable and good sources about Michael Jordan in a
very organized way. On the left column, it has featured content that provides articles from the
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New York Times, Encyclopedia of World Biography and Notable News. Below featured content,
it is news section collecting 2067 pieces of news about Michael Jordan from the newspaper.
Below the news section, it has selected websites on Michael Jordan’s life and works. On the
right column, it has 17 references. When clicking the link, it shows a long list of sources for
further readings. Below the references section, it is a magazine section which collects 673
magazines about Michael Jordan. The last one is the primary sources section. I think I can find
more information in my Public Library with this database because it consists of such abundant
and organized sources in one page for any further research.
7. Answer in length based on your researching and search experience with this project.
In terms of types of biographees, I learned that there are different types of databases applicable
to each type of subject the patron wants to search. For instance, for authors, we can try the
Literature Resource Center. For the deceased Americans, we can try the American National
Biography. For musicians, we can try Oxford Music Online etc. In terms of amount of
information, quality and quantity, I learned that search techniques and familiarity with databases
can affect the search results greatly. Familiarity with databases and employing good search
techniques can make the search more efficient and effective. Different search methods can
produce different results such as more quantity with less quality results or vice versa; therefore, it
is necessary to use more than two search methods to explore so that obtain the desirable results.
The quality of databases determines the quality of information. Scholarly databases or academic
databases are with good quality used by multi-disciplines. They are often tested and peerreviewed. They have trusted authority, reliability and consistency. Wikipedia, however, may not
have the same characteristics as scholarly databases due to its lack of authority, reliability and
consistency. The information on Wikipedia is editable online anytime by anyone, so it is hard to
trust as critical and unbiased information. Good amount of information does not guarantee all
information is with good quality. Google Scholar may have a good amount of resources, but they
are often available as abstracts or need to pay to access. Also, some information is not accurate
and current.
During my search, I heavily rely on search operators to narrow my search results. Using the right
search operators such as Boolean limiters in advance search can make the search more effective.
However, the Internet does not have Boolean operators to limit the results. Because of the easy
use of the Internet, I search basic facts about the five persons such as full names and date of birth
and death online before I search in the databases. The tool of “help,” “tips,” or “about” in the
databases or webpages is found to be useful too.
Overall, I enjoy doing this project, and I have learned a lot from it. Searching biographical
information is not as easy as it seems. Some people might have very few and outdated
biographical resources while some famous people might have a lot. Therefore, it requires the
knowledge of database and searching techniques. Also, my researching and search experience
with this project helps me understand the importance of evaluating the information online and
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my search results. I can anticipate my role as a reference library in the future. In order to find
accurate information for patrons, it is necessary to improve my ability of searching and
information literacy.