the computer as an information tool

• It is called online because users connect to remote databases to access machine-readable information stored on large computers frequently located in interstates or overseas using a pe

WELCOME TO OUR PRESENTATION

AN INFORMATION TOOL

•

• Online literature searches were the accepted way for all research to conduct

systematic reviews of work in particular fields or topics.

• It is called online because users connect to remote databases to access

machine-readable information stored on large computers frequently located in interstates or overseas using a personal computer modem and telephone lines.

• The information is available virtually instantly and may be downloaded to the user’s computer

• Major information provider: Dialog, Presscom,…

2 CD-ROM Databases (storing and retrieving information)

Computer is a virtual library and rich storehouse of electronic information resources

1 Online literature searches:

• Structure:

• CD-ROM holds staggering amounts of information which can only be read ,not

amended or added

• CD-ROM contains sound, pictures, animation and text; contains the complete

unabridged text of nearly 2000 classic work(essays, letters, poems,…) together with pictures and narrations.

• Functions :

• CD-ROM is medium for many information services because of its vast storage

capacity.

• It is powerful research tool which helps the researcher interacts directly with the information base

• another type: Bookshelf-a library of reference tools for writers

3 Electronic reference library

• The original online literature searches remote

databases via modem and telephone

• Technology from SilverPlatter called Electronic

Reference Library(ERL) which contains software and protocols in order to make available the most widely that were previously available on CD-ROM over their campus networks.

• SPIRS ( SilverPalatter Information Retrieval System) is currently the most widely used search and retrieval software in the world.

With the internet and world wide web, researchers, students and individuals in the

community now have at their fingertips the resources of a worldwide storehouse of

information Through the web, or with specialist software, users may also send

messages electronically (email) to colleagues or fellow students almost anywhere in the world So distance ceases to be a barrier.

THE INTERNET AND THE WORLD WIDE WEB

World wide web is the information that resides on all of interconnection of computers across the globe, an enormous information resource that may be described as the world’s largest library

Internet is the interconnection of computers across the

globe

Through world wide web (www) , a rapidly accumulating store of information can be accessed that was previously located in millions of separate titles in individual libraries throughout the world

The web also contains a rich store of up-to-the-minute information from news and other media sources

Often web leads other mass media with news-breaking events

The information in the web is available anywhere, anytime, to those with the appropriate tools: hardware, software and know-how

You have to know the locations or addresses of Web pages or in some page of a website.

It is often useful to know where a web page comes from.

CAUTIONS WITH WEB MATERIALS

First, the web contains an immense about of trivia (too normal) , much information is transient (temporator) and some is biased(unequal) or in accurate, offensive( dislawyal), dangerous What

is important for researchers and students is to evaluate critically all information

Secondly, the difficulty in how to cite online information sources in assignments and theses

because of the evolving of online sources

Finally, at times the internet is slow

FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND THE WEB

For example: some URL ( a uniform resource locator) that allow your network browser to locate website easily

www: indicates the server on world wide web

http: indicates a the internet protocol for transferring information

Types of organization :

Com: commercial

Edu: education

Two digit country code:

Au: australia

Id:indonesia

So on

Thirdly, the potential danger about web materials is the critical need to acknowledge sources to avoid plagiarism

SEARCHING THE WEB

How do you find specific information then when your assignment or thesis has strictly imposed deadlines?

Fortunately,there are search engines to help Search engines are rather like machines that trawl the net in response to specific requests for information

Already there are many competing search engines from which to choose

Among the better known search engines are Lycos, Webcrawler, Yahoo!,Hotbot, Excite and Alta Vista

Simple Searches

When you search with AltaVista, you may choose between what is called Simple Search and Advanced Search

Advanced Searches

Advanced Searches with AltaVista are

characterised by the use of the Boolean

operators AND, OR and NOT(+,- in Simple

Search) and the operator Near

Because of the popularity of the Internet and its ease of use, many commercial

information providers are making materials available( for a fee) to online searching.

LEARNING ON THE NET

In its role as an information tool, the Web is widely used to present information the Internet itself and about internet tools and protocols

With the realisation that the Web is a power ful information tool, more and more universities and TAFE colleges are offering selected courses online

ONLINE DATABASES

Some useful online databases:

Current Contents which indexes the contents of approximately 7000 journals in arts and

humanities, science, and social sciences

Lexis – Nexis, a fully searchable database

containing the complete text of many

newspapers around the word and a large

number of journals across a range of

disciplines

FirstSearch which includes a number of

periodical indexes and databases of abstracts

The computer becomes an indispensable research tool.

INDISPENSABLE RESEARCH TOOL

Certainly the rapid expansion of the internet and its widespread acceptance is due to the seamless way that Network browers such as Netscape enable users to navigate the World Wide Web

without the need for arcane instructions or detailed knowledge of computer protocols

Literature searching, once the preserve of highly trained librarians, is a skill that students can, with help, develop themselves

No longer are students and researchers bound by their locally based libraries With appropriate technology such as Electronic referance library and access to the Internet, students completing assignments and theses can search for and retrieve electronic information across institutions and accross worldwide networks

THE END

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