Intelligent Use of Information
Tactics and Evaluation
Presented by
Muhammad Rafiq Awan
Chief Library Officer
University of Management and Technology
Today’s Agenda
Web Structure, Jargon & definitions.
How search engines think and work.
Picking the right web search tool.
Searching techniques & tips.
Evaluating your sources thinking critically about information
Sources in Sociology
Glossary
blogging
browser
Web 2.0
Databases
html
http
hypertext link
Metasearch
Invisible Web
OPAC
portals
Social Media
Data Warehouse
URL
3 Main Types of Search Tools:...
Web Directory - Hierarchical organized in a classification
system.
Standard Search Engine – uses
mathematical algorithms and
boolean searches for keyword
searches
Expert Pages – reviewed list.
Expert Pages
Infomine - Scholarly Internet Resource
Collection http://infomine.ucr.edu/
Librarians Index to the Internet
Information You Can Trust http://lii.org/
The WWW Virtual Library
http://www.vlib.org
CSUS Librarian Guides:
http://library.csus.edu/guides/
http://www.alexa.com/
http://archive.org/web/web.php
Metasearch engines
Search simultaneously across
multiple search engines and
displays top sites in each:
– Dogpile.com
– Vivisimo.com
Warning: Some now charge for higher
listings, e.g., Overture
How Search
Engines Think
and Work
Search
Engines
Most search engines and
databases use Boolean
Operators to create search
statements, e.g.
(domestic or family) and
(violence not political)
Boolean Operators
AND requires both terms to
appear in the items that are
retrieved.
OR requires either term to
appear in the items that are
retrieved.
NOT excludes a term.
Boolean Search Strategy
a
AND
b
family and violence
a
OR
c
family or domestic
b
NOT
d
violence not sexual abuse
a
a
bb
b
c
d
Choose based on your
Information Need
Try Noodle Tools:
http://www.noodletools.com/de
bbie/literacies/information/5loc
ate/adviceengine.html
Advanced Searching
Educat* will find:
Use “quotation marks” to search for phrases
pdf – Adobe readable files
=
Handout
See “Searching the Web”
handout of special search
features and URLs for most
popular search engines.
http://libweb.uoregon.edu/guide
s/searchweb/srchweb-info.html
Search Tips
& Strategies
World
Wide
Web
Common Codes in Domain Names
edu - higher
education
com - commercial
firms (+22 million)
gov - government
agencies
mil - military (US)
org - general
noncommercial
organizations
net - computer
networks
int - international
organizations
State or Country of
origin:
– uk (United
Kingdom)
– ca (Canada)
– ca.us
(California.
United States)
Think critically about the
information you find on the Web...
Anybody can publish
anything on the Web.
There are no editors and
no central authorities.
There are no guarantees that
the site you find will be there
next time you look.
Questions you should ask when
evaluating a Web page:
Who is the author or sponsor?
What authority/expertise do they have?
What is the purpose/scope of the page?
Is it current? When was it last updated?
How complete and accurate is the
information? Does it have a bias?
How usable is it? Do the the links work?
Web Searching Tips
Use unique words or phrases.
Check spelling !
Use synonyms or multiple spellings
(e.g., marijuana marihuana)
Try more than one search engine.
Use words like “research” or
“policy” to find more scholarly sites.
Use domain limit feature e.g.,
Domain:edu or domain:gov
Popular
Search
Engines
World
Wide
Web
US Digital
Media
Universe
Audience
Reach
Home & Work Users
January 2003
KEY:
GG=Google,
YH=Yahoo,
MSN=MSN,
AOL=AOL,
AJ=Ask Jeeves,
OVR=Overture (GoTo),
IS=InfoSpace,
NS=Netscape,
AV=AltaVista,
LY=Lycos,
ELINK=EarthLink.com,
LS=LookSmart,
http://searchenginewatch.com/reports/netratings.html
There are specialized search
engines for almost every topic
For a list of over 3,000 search engines
go to Search Engine Guide:
http://www.searchengineguide.com
For detailed information aimed at search
professionals try
SearchEngineWatch:
http://www.searchenginewatch.com
Information Sources in Sociology
•Sociological Abstracts
•SocINDEX with Full Text
•Annual Review of Sociology
Sociology Related Article Databases
Academic OneFile
•AgeLine From the AARP. Covers topics related to aging
•Family and Society Studies Worldwide
•Left Index Identifies publications written from a leftist perspective
•Women and Social Movements in the United States
•Social Services Abstracts
•Family and Society Studies Worldwide
•Social Work Abstracts
•PsycINFO
•Anthropology
•Anthropology Plus
•AnthroSource
•Annual Review of Anthropology
Book Reviews
Resources that include reviews of books, either non-fiction or fiction,
where a book is evaluated based on content, style, and merit.
American Journal of Sociology. (online)
Published bimonthly by the University of Chicago Press, this source
contains scholarly articles and numerous, detailed book reviews written
by academics.
Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews. (online)
A bimonthly publication of the American Sociological Association, the
issues generally include more than a dozen review essays and around
100 shorter reviews which are divided into nearly 30 subject
categories. Includes an extensive listing of recent publications.
Sociological Review . 1908This quarterly review journal, published by Blackwell for Keele
University (England), contains in-depth, scholarly reviews of new
books. Also contains articles on sociological topics and notes on new
research.
Biographical Sources
Biographical Dictionary of Sociologists. 2008.
This volume presents brief, informative profiles on sociologists and persons
influential in sociology. A list of recommended works follows each entry, so that
readers may become acquainted with the person’s literary works. Volume
includes a chronological timeline of publication dates of major works, as well as a
subject index.
Fifty Key Sociologists: The Formative Theorists. 2007.
This resource contains the biographies of fifty theorists whose ideas contributed to
the formation of social theory and social research at a time when sociology was
becoming a distinct discipline. Entries are listed alphabetically and each includes
the sociologist's major works and suggested further readings. An index is
provided.
The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Major Social Theorists. 2011. (online)
This volume is a collection of essays on 25 of the leading social theorists. Divided
into two sections, one section discusses classical social theorists and the other
contemporary social theorists. The essays include a brief discussion of their life
and work as well as place them within a greater social context with various other
thinkers. Includes bibliographies of work by each theorist as well as works on
them and on their theories for further reading.
Encyclopedias in Sociology
American Immigration: An Encyclopedia of Political, Social, and Cultural Change. 2nd ed. 2013
Encyclopedia of Sociology. 2nd ed. 5 vols. 2000. (online)
The Encyclopedia of Global Change. 2005. (online)
Global Social Issues: An Encyclopedia. 2013.
Asian American History and Culture: An Encyclopedia. 2010.
Encyclopedia of Diasporas: Immigrant and Refugee Cultures around the World. 2
vols.2004.(online)
Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies. 2008.
The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology. 2007.
Encyclopedia of Race and Crime. 2009. (online)
The Concise Encyclopedia of Sociology. 2011. (online)
Encyclopedia of Criminology and Deviant Behavior. 2001
Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. 2013. (online)
Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History. 2010
.
Encyclopedia of Population. 2 vols. 2003. (online)
Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society. 3 vols. 2008. (online
Encyclopedia of Social Theory. 2006
)
Resources at UMT Library
Cambridge Journals
Emerald
ESDU - Engineering Solutions for Academia
IET Digital Library
IEEEXplore
INFORMS Journals
JSTOR
Pakistan Lawsite
Project MUSE by Johns Hopkins University Press
SpringerLink
Symposium Journals
Taylor & Francis Journals - (informaworld)
University of Chicago Press
Wiley Online Library
EBooks Ebrary
World Bank e-Library
Free Books Sites
https://www.bookbub.com/landers/choices2.php
http://www.book-cycle.org/
http://www.getfreeebooks.com/
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/20-best-websites-to-download-free-e-books/
http://www.freemake.com/blog/20-best-websites-to-download-free-ebooks/
http://bookboon.com/
http://www.goodreads.com/ebooks
http://www.getfreeebooks.com/
http://mashable.com/2014/07/19/free-ebooks/#Y04ofisZbZk5
http://www.spencerlibrary.com/ebooks.shtml
http://www.gutenberg.org/
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/best-websites-download-free-e-books/
Free Journals Articles Sites
sci-hub.club
https://doaj.org/
http://www.e-journals.org/
http://www.ipl.org/div/farq/articleFARQ.html
http://www.elsevier.com/about/open-science/openaccess/open-access-journals
http://home.highwire.org/
http://www.newschool.edu/cps/subpage.aspx?id=55034
https://scholar.google.com.pk/
http://www.palgrave-journals.com/dddmp/free_articles.html