The World
Wide Web Consortium (WC3, the kingpin of interoperability, the
grand poo-bah of Web standardization) defines
the Web as "the universe of network-accessible
information, an embodiment of human knowledge." Yeah, ok, whatever.
Actually, the Internet is the skeleton, the structure,
the backbone, the network of computer networks. The Web is actually
only one protocol of the Internet. It is the collection
of information including documents, articles, opinions, stories,
art, sounds and animations stored on Web servers.
The cool thing
is that information on the Web is just as likely to be located on a
computer
next door or across the country as it is on a computer on the other side
of the planet.
The type of information you need will change depending on the question
you are trying to answer.
Click
on the following sources of information. Notice the similarities and differences
between them.
Keep in mind the following three questions:
Which
sources can you find online?
Which
sources guide you to other information on your topic?
Which
sources would you use when writing a research paper?
A magazine is a collection
of articles and images about diverse topics of popular interest and current
events. Usually these articles are written by journalists or scholars
and are geared toward the average adult. Magazines may cover very "serious"
material, but to find consistent scholarly information you should use
journals.
Magazines,
like journals and newspapers, are called "periodicals" because
they are published at regular intervals (periodically) throughout
the year. Print magazines can be found in newsstands, libraries, and
your home. Electronic magazines, called e-zines,
can be found on the Web and sometimes in "digital library"
collections.
Use
a Magazine
to
find information or opinions about popular culture
to
find up-to-date information about current events
to find articles
written for the general public on a topic
A journal is a collection
of articles usually written by scholars in an academic or professional
field. An editorial board reviews articles to decide whether they should
be accepted. Articles in journals can cover very specific topics or narrow
fields of research. Since journals are published on a regular or periodic
basis they are grouped in the category called "periodicals."
Electronic journals, called e-journals, are published on the Web by some
scholarly organizations and are made available to you from your library.
Use
a Journal
when doing scholarly research
to find out what has been studied on your topic or research that has been done
in your field
to find bibliographies that point to other relevant research
A
periodical index points to citations of articles in magazines, journals and newspapers. Some periodical indexes contain abstracts (brief summaries)
of the articles. A few contain the full text (entire content) of articles
as they originally appeared in the periodical. You may use the online periodical
indexes, purchased by Steen Library, from any Internet-connected computer.
Use a Periodical Index
when you want to find articles on your topic in magazines, journals or newspapers
Examples of Periodical Indexes
Expanded Academic Index (Infotrac), Academic Search Premier (Ebsco) (general periodical indexes)
Medline (a medical periodical index)
General BusinessFile (a business periodical index)
A
newspaper is a collection of articles about current events usually published
daily. Since there is at least one in every city, it is a great source
for local information. Newspapers, like journals and magazines, are called
"periodicals" because they are published on a regular or periodic basis.
Many newspapers
publish Web sites with today's news. The online copy of a newspaper
can contain fewer articles than the print copy. Newspapers usually charge
for access to online copies of older articles, but you can often find
those articles at your library.
Use
a Newspaper
to
find current information about international, national and local events
to
find editorials, commentaries, expert or popular opinions
The library catalog is a
database that organizes materials your library collects on particular
subjects and identifies where these items are located.
How do you search for items
in the catalog?
Most library catalogs allow you to search by author, title or subject.
Some require you to use special commands or enter terms in a specific
way.
Author: search last name first
If looking for books by: Vinton
Cerf
Search: cerf, vinton
Title: drop the first article (a, an, the)
If looking for the book: The
Complete Internet User's Guide
Search: Complete Internet User's Guide
Subject: use subject headings
If looking for books about: the
history of the Internet
Search: Internet (Computer network)--History
How do you find an article
once you have a citation from a periodical index? After you gather a
list of citations from a periodical index, check to see if your library
owns that magazine or journal by searching the library catalog. When
you search, be sure to look for the title of the periodical, *not* the
title of the article.
For example:
If you were looking for this article:
"Gossip
on the web: Truth, lies and cyberspace."
The Economist 351.8116 (April 24, 1999): 84.
You would search: title - Economist (not "Truth, lies and cyberspace")
Books
cover virtually any topic, fact or fiction. For research purposes, you will
probably be looking for books that synthesize all the information on one
topic to support a particular argument or thesis. Libraries organize and
store their book collections on shelves called "stacks", and you
can use the library catalog to locate them. Electronic books, called
e-books, may be purchased online or may be available for use free from your
library.
Use
a Book
when
looking for lots of information on a topic
to
put your topic in context with other important issues
to
find historical information
to
find summaries of research to support an argument
Examples
Nash,
Gary B. ed. The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society,
1990.
Silverstone,
Roger, ed. Visions of Suburbia, 1997.
Smith,
J. T. Roman Villas: A Study in Social Structure, 1997.
Encylopedias
are collections of short, factual entries often written by different contributors
who are knowledgeable about the topic. There are two types of encyclopedias
-- general and subject. General encyclopedias provide concise overviews
on a wide variety of topics. Subject encyclopedias contain in-depth entries
focusing on one field of study. The best place to find an encyclopedia
is in a library. However, a few encyclopedias can be found on the Web,
usually accessible only to subscribers.
Use
an Encyclopedia
when
looking for background information on a topic
when
trying to find key ideas, important dates or concepts
The Web allows
you to access most types of information on the Internet through a browser.
One of the main features of the Web is the ability to quickly link to
other related information. The Web contains information beyond plain text,
including sounds, images and video.
Use the Web
to
find current information
to
link to information provided by the library over the Internet
to
find information from all levels of government - federal to
local
Email
is a method of online communication with one or more people using special
software on an Internet-connected computer. It is not a private form of
communication since messages can be easily copied and sent to others.
It is difficult to convey emotion or intent in an email message, so you
must clearly state what you mean to say. You should be aware that there
are rules of etiquette or "netiquette" to follow when using
email. For example, USING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS is frowned upon because
it is considered to be "shouting" in an online environment.
Many of
you already know that "zine" is the name for a small press publication
or alternative newsletter. An e-zine is usually an online magazine
or an electronic version of a print magazine. E-zines represent one
of the best things about the Web -- that anyone can publish. E-zines
can be independently created or they can be sponsored by major publishing
companies. They can be liberal or conservative, weekly or monthly, professional
or recreational.
P.S.
Here's another thing to keep in mind: magazine is to journal as e-zine
is to e-journal. An e-journal runs in academic circles and is more scholarly
than an e-zine.
None of
your friends want to hear about how Kitty ate your roommate's prized
goldfish!? Well there are thousands of people in the online world who'd
just love to hear all about it, and tell you more cutesy cat stories
than you ever dreamed there were cats. Yes, newsgroups may be just the
place for you.
Newsgroups
are places on the Internet where people exchange stories, information
and even news. They often have addresses like: rec.pets.stupid-cat-stories
(the rec. stands for 'recreational'), or on a more serious note, soc.culture.middle-east
(to discuss 'social' issues.) Newsgroups let you browse their email-like
postings in a leisurely manner, as well as post your own stuff.
Listservs
are similar to newsgroups in that there's one on almost any topic, but
they work a little differently. A listserv is a software program that
distributes e-mail to all the people subscribed to the 'list'. By subscribing
to a listserv you will receive a copy of all email posted to the list's
address. Similarly, anything you post will be sent to everybody else
subscribed to the list -- so be careful what you say about your roomate's
darn cat.
Browsers are software that provide a graphical interface to information
on the Web. They display pages written in Hypertext Markup Language
(HTML) and make it possible for you to click on links to jump to other
pages. This neat invention is called hypertext.
The first graphical Web browser was Mosaic, which was replaced by two
other popular browsers: Netscape's Navigator/Communicator and Microsoft's
Internet Explorer (IE). Regardless of which browser you choose, you
can access the same information and can configure the software to match
your personal preferences.
Each browser
interprets some HTML elements in its own way, so the same page might display
differently, depending on which browser you use. The competition between
Microsoft and Netscape to create the most popular software has been called
the "browser wars." Each company tries to outdo the other with unique
features.
