Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer is installed with Windows as the default web browser:

IE icon You can access information on the internet using a web browser (such as Internet Explorer (IE) or Netscape)
(Hint: Save this link as one of your "Favorites" for future reference)

	Bestsellers - Music - DVDs - Videos - Electronics Search for ... (keywords):
	Search for ... (keywords): Bestsellers - Music - DVDs - Videos - Electronics

The internet is like a global telephone network, without a directory! Fortunately, internet search engines make the task of finding information much easier.

What's the best search engine?

Go ahead - try it:

Why is Google so useful?

If you are unfamiliar with the internet, you may want to look at www.internet101.org. I also recommend that you register for the free online Netskills course.

How do you judge the quality of information available on the internet? This is an important skill which can only be acquired with experience. If you are new to the internet, I recommend that you take the free online Internet Detective tutorial.

Online Bibliographic Databases

Information Sources:

Sources:	Examples:	Target:
a) General sources:	Dictionaries, encyclopaedias, handbooks, newspapers, etc.	General audience
b) Intermediate sources:	Textbooks, review articles.	Intermediate audience
c) Specific sources:	Journal articles, conference proceedings, theses.	Specialist audience

Thinking time: (no marks for these, but you should try to answer)

When you write an essay for one of your courses, which of these information sources should you use?
If you perform a web search, which category of information do the web pages you find fit into: a, b or c?
If you were writing a final year project, which of these information sources would you use?

Bibliographic databases are searchable collections of references. Before searching a database you will need to do some thinking. You will need to decide what you are actually searching for, e.g:

What terms can be used to describe the information you are looking for?
Keywords describe the subject you are looking for.
Freetext searching simply looks for the occurrence of a word or phrase usually within the title or abstract of an article. The word or phrase needs only to have been mentioned to be picked up by the search therefore the content of the article itself may not be relevant.
- Are there differences in spelling or terminology for the subject you are looking up?
- American/English spelling (e.g. behavior/behaviour, fetal/foetal)
- Synonyms
- Abbreviations (e.g. WWW, HIV)

Most databases will also allow truncation searching, a quick way to search for alternative spellings or plurals of words. Databases use a symbol for truncation searching, e.g. an asterisk (*) or a dollar sign ($), e.g. evol* will find: evolve, evolving, evolution, evolutionary, evolved, etc.
- How do you combine the keywords together to get what you want?
- Keywords need to be carefully combined to include or exclude terms, to narrow down or widen a search. This is done using Boolean operators, e.g:
  AND: Both words must be present
  OR: Either or both words must be present
  NOT: The first but not the second word must be present

Boolean

Are there any limits you wish to apply, e.g:
- Authors
- Dates
- Language
- Publication type
How you would use this preparation to plan a literature search?
- Think: keywords
- Analyse: synonyms
- Combine
- Limit

Citing References:

Bibliographic references are used to indicate the author's sources and to enable the reader to find these sources. They are a vital part of any written academic work. It is essential to cite information sources consulted in order to:

Guard against plagiarism
Avoid making unsupported statements
Support statements you make within the text of your work

Reference Lists and Bibliographies:

A reference list has all the references you have actually cited (quoted directly or indirectly) in the text.
A bibliography also contains the references to additional works to which you have not directly made reference, but which have helped you to construct your essay.
For most purposes a bibliography is used which contains both your quoted references and other material you have looked at.