Info Guru
SSD – Summer Tech Institute
July 12 & 13, 2010
Facilitator: Kathy Vetter
kvetter@sau56.org
www.somersworthhslmc.wikispaces.com
Info Guru
Search Engines
Search tips and tools
Website evaluation
Organizing information
Browsers
Read web files differently
Have different add-ons and options
Browsers
Internet Explorer
Firefox
Safari
Google Chrome
Search Engines
and Subject Directories
Individual Search Engines
Meta-Search Engines
Subject Directories
Individual Search Engines
“Spiders” or “robots” scan web
pages and index words.
Rank pages
Frequency of keywords and phrases
Popularity (# links pointing to the
sites)
Individual Search Engines
Google
Yahoo
Bing
Exalead
How does Google Work?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNHR6IQJGZs&fea
ture=related
Individual Search Engines
Huge amount of web
files are indexed so
chances of finding
something obscure is
good .
More relevant pages
often moved to the top
of the result list.
Difficult to weed
through huge amount of
results
Good search strategy
skills needed.
Meta-Search Engines
Do not create their own
databases
“Crawl” other individual
search engines and
compile results
Meta-Search Engines
Yippy.com
Dogpile.com
Monstercrawler.com
Mamma.com
For a List of metasearch engines visit
http://www.pandia.com/powersearch/
Meta-Search Engines
Fast results
Get an overview of
several search engine
results.
May show results
from search engines
you don’t normally
use.
Limited results
Many don’t query
Google which has
largest database.
Search Engine Links
Recommended Search Engines – U.C. Berkeley
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/
Internet/SearchEngines.html
Search Poster – Joyce Valenza, Springfield
Township High School Librarian
http://springfieldlibrary.wikispaces.com/Search+P
oster
Subject Directories, Portals,
Vortals, & Databases
Maintained by humans
Content is selected for inclusion
by humans
Content usually annotated with
descriptions
Subject Directories
Yahoo http://dir.yahoo.com/?skw=yahoo+subject+directory
MSN http://specials.msn.com/
Pandia http://www.pandia.com/plus/
ipl
http://ipl.org
The Open Directory http://www.dmoz.org/
Beaucoup http://www.beaucoup.com/
For a list of directories go to
http://www.bestdirs.com/sitemap.php
It’s a little overwhelming - try clicking on Popular Directories
Portals (gateways)
Academic Information
Digital Librarian
Infomine
Internet Public Library
Lakes Region NH
http://www.lakesregion-nh.com/
www.virtual Library
Vortals (subject specific)
Educator's Reference Desk http://www.eduref.org/
Expedia
Encyclopedia of Life http://www.eol.org/
Internet Movie Database http://us.imdb.com
Kelley Blue Book http://www.kbb.com
Monster
Motley Fool http://www.fool.com
MySimon
Voice of the Shuttle http://vos.ucsb.edu
WebMD http://www.webmd.com
Roller Coaster Database http://www.rcdb.com/
Directories, Databases,
Portals and Vortals
Organization of
material may be easier
to navigate/search.
 Dead links
Human touch- higher
quality results.
 Could be outdated
Points to resources
on the Invisible Web
 e-commerce bias?
 Limited results
Search Tips
Advanced Search
Boolean Operators
Google tips
Advanced Search
Most search engines and databases
have options for advanced search.
Use them!
Boolean Operators
AND, OR, NOT
+-
Boolean Operators
Strawberry OR Vanilla OR Chocolate
Boolean Operators
Strawberry AND Vanilla AND Chocolate
Boolean Operators
Strawberry AND Vanilla NOT Chocolate
Boolean Operators
Boolean Searching
http://www.ithacalibrary.com/sp/s
ubjects/guide.php?subject=boolean
Boolify
http://www.boolify.org
Boolean Searching
Salamanders not newt
Colleges or Universities
Safari not apple
Bass not music
Martin luther not king
More Search Tips
Parenthesis “to be or not to be”
Stop words - and or not is the
Use * to truncate
Control F or Edit>Find
Link:
Site:
Define:
Google Tips
More Google tips @
http://springfieldlibrary.wikispaces
.com/Google+Search+Options
http://web.appstorm.net/roundups
/tips-tricks/25-awesome-googlesearch-tips-and-tricks
Invisible Web
Information in database files that
are not indexed by search engines.
Most subscription databases
Google Scholar is able to search
some of the invisible web.
Invisible Web
Use subject directories like Internet
Public Library
Use “database” as a search term
Invisible Web tools
http://incywincy.com
http://oalster.worldcat.org
Open archive digital resources
http://www.somersworthhslmc.wiki
spaces.com/Research+Databases
Website Evaluation
Using CARRDSS to Evaluate Sources
Credibility/Authority
Accuracy
Reliability
Relevance
Date
Sources behind the text
Scope
Website Evaluation
Using CARRDSS to Evaluate Sources
Credibility/Authority
Who wrote/created it?
What are the author(s) credentials? Education?
Area of expertise?
Look for - about us, contact us, FAQ, site map.
Is there a way to contact the creator of the
website?
Do other sites link to this site.
Try doing a Google search preceding the URL with
link:
Example link:http://www.eol.org)
Website Evaluation
Using CARRDSS to Evaluate Sources
Accuracy –
Based on your knowledge, is the information
accurate?
Can you verify the information in other sources?
Do you notice any spelling or grammatical errors?
Website Evaluation
Using CARRDSS to Evaluate Sources
Reliability/objectivityWhat is the PURPOSE of the publication?
Does it try to persuade, sell, inform?
Does it present a particular point of view or bias?
Website Evaluation
Using CARRDSS to Evaluate Sources
Relevance
Does the information directly support my
hypothesis/thesis or help to answer my
question?
Website Evaluation
Using CARRDSS to Evaluate Sources
Date (currency)
When was the website last created?
When was it updated or revised?
Depending on the subject matter maybe it doesn’t
matter.
Website Evaluation
Using CARRDSS to Evaluate Sources
Sources behind the text.
What sources did the author rely on?
Are the sources reliable and credible?
Tip: Try linking to or searching for sources listed.
Website Evaluation
Sites to Evaluate
http://www.weathergraphics.com/t
im/fisher
http://nytimes-se.com
http://martinlutherking.org
More Website Evaluation Tips
Paste the URL into the search box of
http://www.alexa.com and click “get details”
Use the Wayback Machine to see what the
website looked like in the past.
http://web.archive.org/collections/web.html
Look up the authors name in a search engine.
Don’t forget to use quotes, i.e. “John Smith”
Also try “John * Smith” - the * will stand for the
middle name or initial.
Organizing Web Resources
Social Bookmarking
Diigo.com
Delicious.com
Wikis
pbworks
wikispaces
Credits
"Finding Information on the Internet." The Library-University of California,
Berkeley. Web. 11 July 2010.
<http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInf
o.html>.
Hanes-Ramoms, Melanie. "Bare Bones 101: A Basic Tutorial on Searching
the Web." University of South Carolina. Web. 11 July 2010.
<http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/bones.shtml>.
Henderson, John, and Jennifer Strickland. "Research Guides - Boolean
Logic." Ithica College - Research Guides-Boolean Logic. Ithica
College Library. Web. 11 July 2010.
<http://www.ithacalibrary.com/sp/subjects/guide.php?subject=bool
ean>.
Valenza, Joyce Kasman., Emily Valenza, and Joyce Kasman. Valenza.
Power Tools Recharged: 125+ Essential Forms and Presentations
for Your School Library Information Program. Chicago: American
Library Association, 2004. Print.