Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Pretest
• Concept Mapping
• Reading Text & Presentation
  • 4.1 Internet searching
  • 4.2 Search engines
  • 4.3 Keywords and search engines
  • 4.4 Reference sources about ASEAN
  • 4.5 How to keep up to date with mobility
• Activities
• Post test
• Bibliography

Because a keyword search simply matches on a character string, no assumption should be made with respect to the absolute accuracy and comprehensiveness of the results. The resultant report should be considered as providing "suggestions" or "possibilities" rather than answers. Some of the "matching" projects may not be matches at all and some "real" matches may not be included.

For example, a search for the keyword "liver" would "match" a document with a title that includes the word "delivery", even though it bears no relationship whatsoever to the topic "liver". This is a false match.  Conversely, a search using the keyword "ASEAN" will not report a match on a document which includes the word "Thailand" but not the word "ASEAN". In this case, a "real" match is not reported.

Some guidelines for choosing keywords in searches are as follows:

• Specify multiple keywords, any of which might be related to your topic. For example, if the topic is "doctors", your list might include keywords such as "dentists", "physicians", etc.
• Try to choose keywords which are "long enough" but not "too long". Short keywords may result in many false matches, while long ones may be overly specific and exclude valid matches. Trial and error is often the best way to get good results.
• Avoid needless repetition. For example, if you specify the keyword "clinic", there is no need to also request "clinical". Any match that would be found with the latter would already be found with the former.

Search engines are best at finding unique keywords, phrases, quotes, and information buried in the full-text of web pages. Because they index word by word, search engines are also useful in retrieving tons of documents. If you want a wide range of responses to specific queries, use a search engine.

However, sometimes searches do not go as planned, especially with complicated queries that can relate to other topics, belong to other broader concepts or narrower issues, and are even synonymous with other terms.  The table below illustrates how a question develops from a broad to a focused question. Please note that you may use dictionaries or thesauri.

Broad Topic	Restricted Topic	Narrowed Topic	Related Topic
ASIA	AEC	ASEAN	ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation
Education	Regional harmonization of education	Higher education  and harmonization	Modernization of higher education
Fishing	Commercial fishing	Fishing regulations in the Indian Ocean	Inter-governmental roles in regional fishing

 

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Activities

Activity 3

 

4.3.2 Searching savvy on the internet

Text from HowToGeek.com (n.d.).  How to Search Google Like a Pro: 11 Tricks You Have to Know.

(Source: http://www.howtogeek.com/106714/how-to-search-google-like-a-pro-11-tricks-you-have-to-know/ retrieved 12/3/2014)

 

Some great search tips:

• Exact words and phrases
  One of the most basic and widely known search tricks is using quotation marks to search for an exact phrase. For example, “Hello World”, perform the following search and you’ll only get pages that contain the word “Hello” followed by the word “World.”

This same method now works for exact-word queries. For example, if you search for ‘mining’ Google will also show pages that contain the words ‘miners’. Previously, you’d use a plus sign and search for +mining, but now you have to enclose the word in quotes: “mining”

• Excluding a word
  The minus sign allows you to specify words that shouldn’t appear in your results. For example, if you’re looking for pages about Linux distributions that don’t mention Ubuntu, use the following search:

linux distributions -ubuntu

• Site search
  The ‘site:’ operation allows you to perform a search in a specific site. Let’s say you’re looking for information on Windows 7 on How to Geek. You could use the following search:

site:howtogeek.com windows 7

You can also use the ‘site:’ operation to specify a domain. For example, if you’re looking for high-quality references, you could use site:.edu to pull up results from only .edu domains.

• The wildcard
  The asterisk (*) is a wildcard that can match any word. For example, if you wanted to see what companies Google has purchased and how much they paid, you could use this search:

“google purchased * for * dollars”

• Time ranges
  A little-known search operation allows you to specify a specific time range. For example, use the following search to find results about Ubuntu from between 2004 and 2010:

ubuntu 2004..2010

• File type
  The ‘filetype:’ operation lets you search for files of a specific file type. For example, you could search for only PDF files:

filetype:pdf how to geek

• One word or the other
  The ‘OR’ operation lets you find words that contain one term or another. For example, using the following search will pull up results that contain either the word “Ubuntu” or the word “Linux.” The word ‘OR’ must be in uppercase:

ubuntu OR linux

• Word definitions
  You don’t have to Google a word and look for a dictionary link if you want to see its definition. Use the following search trick and you’ll see an inline definition:

define:word

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Activities

Activity 4

 

4.3.3 Evaluating search results

The World Wide Web offers information and data from all over the world. Because so much information is available, and because that information can appear to be fairly “anonymous”, it is necessary to develop skills to evaluate what you find. When you use a research or academic library, the books, journals and other resources have already been evaluated by scholars, publishers and librarians. Every resource you find has been evaluated in one way or another before you ever see it. When you are using the World Wide Web, none of this applies. There are no filters. Because anyone can write a web page, documents of the widest range of quality, written by authors of the widest range of authority, are available on an even playing field.

Text from Avery, S. (2012, August 29). Evaluating Internet.  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

(Source: http://www.library.illinois.edu/ugl/howdoi/webeval.html retrieved 3/3/ 2014)

 

The questions below will help you evaluate web pages for use as academic sources. Be sure and look at the criteria in multiple categories prior to making a decision regarding the academic quality of a source.

 

How did you find the page?
How you located the site can give you a start on your evaluation of the site's validity as an academic resource.

Q: Was it found via a search conducted through a search engine?
      Evaluation: Unlike library databases, the accuracy and/or quality of information located via a search engine
                             will vary greatly.  Look carefully!
Q: Was it recommended by a faculty member or another reliable source?
      Evaluation: Generally, this is an indicator of reliability.
Q: Was it cited in a scholarly or credible source?
      Evaluation: Generally, this is an indicator of reliability.
Q: Was it a link from a reputable site?
      Evaluation: Generally, this is an indicator of reliability.

 

What is the site's domain?
Think of this as "decoding" the URL (Uniform Resource Locator), or internet address. The origination of the site can provide indications of the site's mission or purpose. The most common domains are as follows:

.org: An advocacy website, such as a non-profit organization
.com: A business or commercial site
.net: A site from a network organization or an internet service provider
.edu: A site affiliated with a higher education institution
.gov: A federal government site
.il.us: A state government site, this may also include public schools and community colleges
.uk: (United Kingdom) A site originating in another country (as indicated by the 2 letter code)
.th: (Thailand) A site originating in Thailand
~: The tilde usually indicates a personal page

What is the authority of the page?
Look for information on the author of the site. On the internet anyone can pose as an authority.

Is the author's name visible? Does the author have an affiliation with an organization or institution?
Does the author list his or her credentials? Are they relevant to the information presented?
Is there a mailing address or telephone number included, as well as an e-mail address?

Is the information accurate and objective?
There are no standards or controls on the accuracy of information available via the internet. The internet can be used by anyone as a sounding board for their thoughts and opinions.

How accurate is the information presented? Are sources of factual information or statistics cited? Is there a bibliography included?
Compare the page to related sources, electronic or print, for assistance in determining accuracy.
Does the page exhibit a particular point of view or bias?
Is the site objective? Is there a reason the site is presenting a particular point of view on a topic?
Does the page contain advertising?

This may impact the content of the information included. Look carefully to see if there is a relationship between the advertising and the content, or whether the advertising is simply providing financial support for the page. 

Is the page current?
This is both an indicator of the timeliness of the information and whether or not the page is actively maintained.

Is the information provided current?
When was the page created?
Are dates included for the last update or modification of the page?
Are the links current and functional?

Does the page function well?
The ease of use of a site and its ability to help you locate the information you are looking for are examples of the site's functionality.

Is the site easy to navigate? Are options to return to the home page, tops of pages, etc., provided?
Is the site searchable?
Does the site include a site map or index?

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Activities

Activity 5