ACADEMIC ENGLISH IIINovember 14th 2012

Today• Searching the Internet.

• Using the Dongsan Library site.

• Reading with purpose.

For effective online research- Know available search tools.

- Understand how these tools work.

- Know HOW to use these tools.

- Evaluate material found with these tools.

Characteristics of the Internet• (Very) large amount of information.

• Convenient.

• However, it doesn’t contain everything. - Search engine to not search all content.

• Searching the Internet can be frustrating.

Internet vs. Print

Web:

- Anyone can publish on the Internet.

- Author’s affiliations and qualifications may not be clear.

- May not identify external information or give citations.

- May be biased or misleading.

Internet vs. Print

Print:

- Extensive publication process.

- authors affiliations (and often qualifications) are clear.

- Give citations/marks outside sources.

- Still may be biased, but is still reviewed.

- Only qualified documents are published.

Internet vs. Print

Whenever possible: Use a printed source!

- Book, journal article.

Luckily, some of these “printed” materials are also available online (i.e., through the library).

Web Search Tools

Search Engines (i.e., Google)

- list results based on entered keywords

Web Directories: (i.e., world wide web virtual library, www.vlib.org )

( Open Directory Project, www.dmoz.org ) - offer categories for users to choose from

Metasearch Engines (i.e., www.dogpile.com)

- offer categories for users to choose from

Search Engine Results• Different search engines might return different results in a

different order

• Can include results from paying advertisers:

Search Engine Results: Practice

1. Search the topic: “Cheese in France” in the following search engines:

www.google.com

www.yahoo.com

www.bing.com

2. Compare the results.

Conducting a Search

• Consider:• keywords that apply • what kinds of information you need• multiple angles

• keep notes

Using Search Terms

Do multiple searches for your topic.

Try variations of keywords:

- i.e., search: “dining hall,” “cafeteria,” and “campus food service.”

Be specific as you find more information:

- i.e., change “dining hall” to “Harvard dining hall”.

Boolean Operators (defining a search)

ANDfinds pages with all of the search terms used - e.g. “dining hall” AND “student workers”

ORfinds pages with at least one of the search terms - e.g. “dining hall” OR “cafeteria” OR “campus food service”

NOT excludes pages that include the second term - e.g. Henry V NOT Shakespeare

Quotation Marks (defining a search)

Quotation marks return pages with exact matches.

enter dining hall • Get: “As I was dining, I heard a noise coming from the hall”

enter “dining hall”• Get: “Dining hall food quality is assessed in this paper.”

Search terms: Practice

1. Do a general search of: fast food

2. Using the same search engine, do searches:

a) The original term.

b) Synonyms of the term

c) Using Boolean operators

REMEMBER

Not all search results will be helpful

You must evaluate the sources:

- No precise formula

- Find out:

• purpose

• who is wrote it/ who is responsible

• when last updated

• whether information is corroborated in other places

Some tips for evaluating• Tone and language used

• Assumptions/Generalizations

• Commercial/Non-commercial

• Advocating a particular opinion

• Copyright notice

• Links/Sources cited

About WikipediaThis is often one of the first results given in a search.

DO NOT CITE WIKIPEDIA.

However…

..Can be useful for:

- Getting an overview.

- Generating new ideas.

- Guiding to other sources.

Search: Richard I

Useful resources

UC Berkeley tutorial for searching the Internet.

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html

Internet Detective: activities to develop search skills.

http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/detective/

Using the library- A great amount of published sources are available here.

- Journals, e-journals, books, e-books, databases.

Journals

Do a search (google, etc.) for journals in the field you are researching.

i.e., If I wanted to write a paper about second language learners.

Field: Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

search google for:

List of _______ journals.

- List of SLA journals.

Journals

Search for some of those journals on the library website.

Look at sources from your internet search (i.e., Wikipedia).

- Search for some of those on the library’s website.

i.e., “motivation in second language learning”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation_in_second-language_learning

Read with a purpose• Skimming

• Scanning

Skimming• Reading the material quickly.

• Trying to get a GENERAL sense of the ideas, information, or topic.

• ”Fast” reading.• - When skimming, you do not read each word.

Skimming

Examples:

- You quickly read a 20-page report in a few minutes, and determine the overall topic and a few major points or ideas.

Skimming• - Can be useful for:

• - Previewing a text.• - Get a general outline of a text.• - Reading something when you have little time.• - Determining is something is useful to you or not.

Skimming

• Some strategies for skimming:

• - Read the first and last paragraphs of a passage.

• - Look for headings, titles, summaries, and other organizers throughout the text.

• - Look at illustrations and charts.

• - Read the first sentence of each paragraph (consider reading the last sentence, too).

Scanning• Reading to find specific information.

• When you scan, you move your eyes over the text to “pull out” specific words, phrases, or data.

• Usually, you know what you are looking for BEFORE reading (i.e., a test question), so you concentrate on finding the information.

Scanning

Examples:

- You look through the dictionary to find a specific word.

Scanning

Examples:

- You read through an accounting report to find a particular set of data.

Scanning

Examples:

- You look at the E-Mart flyers and look for a sale for 삼겹살 .

Scanning• Some strategies for scanning:

• - Look for the author’s use of organizers such as numbers, letters, steps, or the words ”first”, “second”, or “next”.

•  - Look for words that are bold faced, italics, or in a

different font size, style, or color.

• - Look for key words mentioned in a question.

i.e., “What problem did Chevrolet have with the Nova in Latin America?”

Always take notes when you research!

• Nothing is worse than finding a great source or a piece of information, then forgetting it later.

Taking notes when researching

When you locate something that looks useful:

1. Try to paraphrase instead of copy/paste (unless it’s a quote you want to use).

2. Keep notes:

- Citation: Write it now (it will save you time later). at least: Title/author/journal or website/page # (or

Taking notes when researching

When you locate something that looks useful:

2. Keep notes:

- Citation: Write it now (it will save you time later).

at least: Title author journal or website URL (if online) location: page # (or paragraph #)

Taking notes when researching - Example

Topic: motivation in second language learning

P.522:

Source exactly: “I therefore believe that we can foresee in future L2 motivation research a dynamic interplay of established motivational concepts grounded in a social psychological approach and constructs rooted in other psychological fields and approaches.”

My notes: Dornyei stated that the future of L2 motivation research will probably involve interaction between various fields of psychology and approaches.

Write: Dornyei, Z. (1994) Understanding L2 Motivation: On with the Challenge! Modern Language Journal. 78, 515 – 523 p. 522