Workshop 5 - Using Search Engines

Lecture

The main components of the lecture I found useful, informative and interesting were:

• Difference between search engines and directories.
  


• Certain useful internet search tips.
  

Search Engines are a web based application program that crawls the internet, creating indices of websites in which sites are usually indexed by keywords.

Problems with Search Engines include

• Misuse of the page/ score ranking system
  


• The inclusion of current broken links in a list of results to query
  


• Building enormous indices that include irrelevant and outdated results to the user.
  

Directories

• Directories are “human edited”.
  


• Web pages submitted to directories are reviewed and added by manual submission, to ensure quality.
  


• Opposed to search engines which automatically submit web pages, directories do this in order to stop information which is misleading.
  

Useful Search Tips I found interesting and helpful.

• Guessing a location of the source



• Think about and write down what you exactly want.
  


• Use advanced search function and Boolean operators, to expand or contract the search.
  

Tutorial

In the tutorial Gary checked our Blogs and gave us feedback on the structure of a Blogg, what we need to include and exclude in our Blogs in order to achieve high marks. Gary just presented on the projector a brief description on what was to be done in workshop five. The first task was to go to the Monash university website and document in our blogs a couple of tips on how to limit and specify infromation wanted within the search engine searches. The second task was then to do a internet quiz at home. Then Gary told us to explain in our logs how we retrieved the information, to find the anwsers in the quiz.

Workshop 5 - Using Search Engines

Task 1: Was to go to the Monash university website www.monash.com./spidap.html section on search engines and tutorials and read the information. After the web page was read we had to document four strategies in which would help structure a good search in our learning log.

• Using a directory rather than a search engine such as “Google Directory”.

Web directories are a subject-tree style catalogue that organizes the Web into major topics, including Arts, Business and Economy etc. Beneath each of these topics is a list of subtopics of those is another list becoming more general to the more specific.

• Use the search tips section within your browser.

This may help you enter keywords in a particular way to help expand or compact your search.

• Refining your search.

Advanced search refining options some of the possibilities include the ability to search on more than one word, to get more or compact the weight to of the number of hits you get, able to search on proper names, on phrases. Search engines allow you to use Boolean operators to refine your search. These are the logical terms AND, OR, NOT.

• Query by example.

Query by example helps to find similar sites to the ones that come up on your initial search list. Essentially what you're doing is telling the search engine, give more similar to the topic and article than the original one.

Task 2 : was complete the online internet quiz from the webpage www.siteseen.co.uk/questions/historytivia/

Once we had finished were to produce a screenshot of the successful completion of the History Trivia online Quiz that we had participated in.

Task 3 : was to list the strategies that helped to locate the answers in the quiz and there effectiveness.

The strategies I had used to locate my answers were:

• Typing information into basic google search

Worked well for relatively basic questions such as birth dates etc, but questions with multiple subject keywords I struggled to find in the list any sites with the straight up information.

• Typing information into google advanced search

The advanced search function was very good in helping me to search multiple subject keywords. The first useful tool was typing the keywords into this exact wording or phrase helped to compact the search and search for the full subject phrase. Second useful tool was using Boolean operators such as “OR” to expand the search. The last useful tool in advanced search was excluding words using any of these unwanted words search bar.

• Using Google Directory to locate information.
  

Using the google directory I had assumed from reading before that only information manually clarified on this search directory would exist so the results would be more reliable. This was true as only the reliable, factual information came up on the screen as the first entries when keywords were put in.

• Used the Yahoo search engine.

Got stuck on finding the information I was looking for one of the questions so I used an alternative search engine. This was thought of by me because I was told that each search engine although does contain some of the same information, different search engines contain different webpage’s and information sources also, so I thought I would be able to find a section of information for the answer using a different site.

What have I learnt from this module?

• Using a directory rather than a search engine for research on assessments. Knowing the information was manually clarified by the directory site before it is given the green light, will hopefully give me a more reliable and less misleading search result. This is opposed to a search engine searches which just come up with anything with the keyword(s).
  
• Using the advanced search to help expand and compact my search. In order to get exactly what I want or don’t want within my keyword subject search. Using such functions as the exact word or phrase, Boolean operators and excluding the words or phrase I am hopefully likely to get a list of searches relating to exactly what I want
  
• If all else fails use another search engine to track down information.

Readings

The first reading of week 5 is from the Virtual Salt website http://www.virtualsalt.com/howlook.htm. The Virtual Salt website written by Robert Harris takes a look at the types of information categories on the web, search tool types and search tips. Categories of information on the web is split into three the free visible web, the free invisible web and paid database over the web. Visible, free web pages can by found within search engines as invisible websites cannot and paid subscription databases require you to be part of a company or sign up to be able to use these databases as a username and password will be required. Search tool types consist of two they are search engines and directories. Search engines index a large proportion of webpage’s and when searched, “the spider” matches up certain keywords to particular webpage’s. Directories are human edited and contain less information than search engines, when information is searched only the highest quality information will be retrieved when a query is sent as it is hand picked. Some particularly good search tips include read the search tips provided by the search engine or directory, use these search tips to limit and specify your search, guess a location and, limit the keywords “and” “or” within the search to help to limit the amount of hits.

The second reading of week 5 is from the search engine optimisation website http://www.websight.net.au/search-engine-optimisation.asp. The search engine optimisation website is a website that conducts analysis determining if your small business for search engine optimisation. The search engine optimisation provides recommendations and reveals any issues that the developer can implement or you can ask the site to include in website optimisation. The fields that they go over to help optimise a small business website include keyword analysis, setting the benchmark which is the businesses current ranking for every relevant keyword phrase in there search results, search engine optimisation ,link popularity and measuring the websites progress.

Workshop 4 - Using the WWW

Lecture

Out of class from lecture notes talked about the World Wide Web. The overview of the lecture notes talks about internet vs. web, Historical perspective of the web, Defining WWW, Web Protocols and Web browsers/ interface.

Main components of the lecture that I had found interesting, useful and educational include the following:

Differentiating between Net vs. Web

On the Net : find computers and connections are cables between computers.
On the Web: Find information such as documents, videos and connections are hyperlink texts.

History of the Net/Web
Net
1961 The packet switching theory was first published in.
1965 A computer in mass California using a low speed dial up telephone. This becoming the first wide area network built.
By 1969, Four University host computers were connected together into ARPANET.


Web
The Web, first developed by Tim Berners - Lee a CERN researcher in 1989.
The purpose of the web was to facilitate sharing research information.

Defining WWW,

WWW : The World Wide Web is a universe of accessible information stored on computers throughout the world, available through a gigantic network the Internet.
Network of servers linked together by a common protocol, allows access to millions of hypertext resources.

WWW protocols

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol) - TCP allows data/binary signals to be converted into telephone like signal and transferred long existing telephone cables. These are converted back to data at the destination computer.
IP – (Internet Protocol) – IP enables data to be routed from one network to another over the internet.
HTML/HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). As the WWW is the visual part of the internet it uses HTTP or HTML to instruct the computer on how to display and/or exchange data information between computers.
DNS (Domain Name System) Domain name system conventions such as .com or .org etc.
URL (Uniform/Universal Resource Locator)

Web Browsers/Browser Interfaces
Web browsers are programs that allow users to access and explore pages of the WWW. Containing browser interfaces in internet explorer which as with technology has progressed with more efficient and effective information searching functions such as Tabs and specific shortcut buttons.


Some common browser interface shortcuts include.
Ctrl S Saves Webpage onto PC
Ctrl D Adds current page to bookmark/favourites
Ctrl P Prints current Webpage
Ctrl F Finds the next occurrence of the word
F5 Refreshes/reloads current page.

Tutorial

In the tutorial Gary gave us a brief overview off what to do in workshop 4. We Firstly visited the two websites listed in the workshop and describe in our Bloggs how the sites do not appear authenthic and are just there for a joke, naming four mistakes. Then Gary showed the second task on the prjector screen which was to then analyse the Martin Luther King website and suggest its authenticity. At the end of the brief overview of the tutorial Gary gave us time to work on our Bloggs

Workshop - 4 Using WWW

Task 1: you must view the sites http://www.haggishunt.scotsman.com/ and http://www.molossia.org/ then discuss there authenthicity.

In the learning log explain how these websites attempted to appear authenthic, by listing four clues which demonstrates the site is unrealistic.

Haggis hunt website clues

• Haggis is not an animal but is a traditional Scottish dish made from the lung, liver and heart of a sheep.
  
• The supposed Haggis Cams do not show any pictures of a Haggis, because they are not real and just pictures of locations.
  
• They are fake Haggis hunting tips under the link Haggisclopedia, part 6 Hunting Tips.
  
• Fake general facts of Haggis under ther link Haggisclopedia, part 2 Facts such as the Haggis is showeproof but not waterproof.
  
  

Molossia website clues

• Supposed weather times and temperatures.
  
• News headlines such as “Navy Goes Gangbusters” the news headline you assume doesnt represent a real story just a funny made up one.
  
• The pictures on the governenment are all the same, how is that possible?
  
• Made up webpage article history of the War bettwen the Molissan’s and Mustachains in 2006.

Task 2: Was to type into the URL the website http://www.martinlutherking.org/

Document expectations before looking at it

• Information about Martin Luthers King (MLK) history, achievements.
• Links to other informative search websites.
• Picture galleries
• No advertising being a .org site funded by an organisation.
  

Task 3: was to now visit the Martin Luther King website and write down my first impressions

• The site does not contain any real historical information of Martin Luther King’s (MLK) life neither his achievements just a racist site against white people. The site taunts the white population and how white people have allegedly been copying the work of MLK.

Task Four is to look at other sites on Martin Luther King and reflect in the log what I feel about the website now.

• Other sites that contain information on Martin Luther King just present the right facts from a neutral perspective and race is not a factor. The true facts such as Martin Luther King is regarded by all people a pivotal part of American civil rights history bringing equality to all, stopping the racial segregation and discrimination.

• Compared to the other Martin Luther King site as said before the information and facts are not true and race is an issue in the documentation of these facts.
• Such as the information hyperlink “Truth about Martin Luther King JR” talks about how white people allegedly said that MLK papers and beliefs were stolen from other scholars. Making black people feel as if that they have been cheated.
• The rap lyrics an irrelevant part of the MLK site suppose to be focusing on the life of MLK. All the raps are about the topic of calling all black people to kill and rape all whites.

Readings

The first reading of week 4 is the Internet Society (ISOC) webpage on the history of the internet http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml%23Origins . The website talks about how the internet was introduced to society and where it originated from. How it originated from the small networking system used only at universities to research information, to become a worldwide infrastructure that has revolutionised the way we function in daily life. The webpage also talks about the Internets proposed plans for the future.

The second reading of week 4 is the University Leiden webpage http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/history/ivh/frame_theorie.html. The webpage provides hyperlinks to take an in depth look of the history of the net and what it has become today. The first hyperlink of the webpage is it firstly starts explaining the development of computers in the 1960’s. The second hyperlink talks about the move from APARANET used only at universities for research only, to the World Wide Web used by anyone . The third Hyperlink talks about the history of receiving electronic mail (email), when and how it started and its importance and high common use today. Hyperlink 4 title takes an in depth look to the development and utilisation of search engines. The 5th Hyperlink talks about the basic internet data commands of sending and receiving information.

Workshop 3 - Online Libaries and Databases

Lecture
The Topic was split into subtopics part one online libraries and part two online databases.

Main topics covered in part one and part two was there pros and cons, examples, limitations.
Components of part one online libraries I found, I learnt from and found interesting was:

Library

• Advantages: Journals are more up to date entries and the large, diverse range of information that can be found when searching for a certain topic.

• Disadvantages: Many materials are not accessible through portals e.g. Google which are mainly aimed at mass market, not the academic information supplied.

• Examples of online libraries gave me the knowledge that there are heaps of online library search engines I could use to retrieve information not just searching on Google all the time

Limitations of online libraries demonstrated to me even though the information is convenient and up to date you still need to be careful on choosing the material.

• Limitations that could prohibit me from choosing and using certain material that the information can only be used via subscription and the information might not be updated regularly either because of minimal profits for extended research.

Databases

Components of part two online databases I found, I learnt from and found interesting was:

• Disadvantages: lots of advertising, Difficult to navigate and sometimes an information overload.
  
• Example of the Proquest database gave me a fair idea of what the library database looked like and how to use some specific features which we would later expand on in the tutorial.
  

Tutorial

In the Tutorial we briefly went over with Gary the workshop task to use the Proquest journal library database. Once we had got to the ECU journal articles catalogue he taught us how to use the journal databse to search for particular topics. Once we knew how to start searching for Jounral articles our teacher then gaves us a couple of tips on how to reduce and specify what information we wanted from the journal article quantity , by using a number of effecint search terms and strategies. Then we were told to write down ten search tips to later to document in our Bloggs. The second tutorial activity was to then go to the Medline plus webpage and consider the many advantages of having a free medical databse for the public.

Workshop 3 - Online Libaries and Databases

The first task was to use the ECU library service.

• To get to the ECU library
  
• Type into internet explorer the URL of the ECU home website http://www.ecu.edu.au/

• Click the icon library on the home website
  
• Click the icon Journal articles
  
• Click the icon find databases by title
  
• Choose ABI Pro Quest Icon and click
  
• Type the name of the topic into the search field provided

The second task was to find and document ten ways in order to make your search more specific and reduce the amount of articles provided on the topic.

• Changing your search to from basic search to advanced search.

By choosing the advance search you are making your topic search more specific, increasing the search fields and expanding your topic question e.g. Nuclear Energy AND Other Renewable Energy sources .

• Using the advanced search field functionality fields and, or, and not.

When a multiple topic query has been typed into the advanced word search there are certain ways that this topic you may like it to be limited down more. Clicking AND will find all words, OR includes finding any of the words, AND NOT find the first word not the second word.

• Minimizing the amount of words such as and also not is not based on the topic.

Minimizing those particular words increases the chances of you finding the particular topic(s) you have searched, because it searches for every word typed in the search bar and you only want to see searches based on the topic.

• Limiting to results to full text documents only.

Firstly limits the search to the journals which are full article and excludes searches that only reveal the blurb of an article, therefore you receive all the information instead of a small section. Scholarly journals, including peer viewed limits the search to articles that have been viewed most putting them in front that have not been viewed as frequently.

• Adding quotations to the whole text.

Adding quotations to the whole text guarantees the search engine will find articles including the whole search topic typed in e.g. “Nuclear Energy”

• Limit the search to subject etc.

Limiting the search to subject confines the search to articles which only talk about what has been searched. There are much more types of ways that your topic can be limited down by going into the browser.

• Limit the database search to a specific database or a specific few.

Limiting the search to a specific database such as Accounting and Tax will increase your chances of finding the specific topic in this field as it specializes in it, rather than information displayed from other databases that show likely irrelevant information on the topic

• Putting * next to a word.

Putting * next to a word such as econom will search words such as economy, economics etc. This is useful tool because, it expands its search to not just finding the word itself but multiple words which you might not think of typing in and saves time in searching the words individually.

• The symbol? is used to replace any single character, either inside the word or the right end of the word.

Using the question mark within a word or right at the end of a word will help to also expand your word search for eg "wom?n" will find "woman" and "women.

• More Search options
  

If your topic still comes up with heaps of pages of articles and you have included the above tips to try reduce your search without any luck use the more search options section. Using the more search options you can choose or browse a certain publication title, subject, company/organisation, person, location etc you are likely to limit your topic search after this.

Task Three was to go on the MEDline plus website and browse through the search engine getting use to use to it. Then we chose a subject that we were interested in and used the search engine to find an interactive tutorial and watch it.

Task Four was to write about who you think might use the service and what you think they might get from it?

Who would use the medline plus website service?
The medline plus website is a United States medical encyclopedia free to the public and funded by the Government. The medline site contains a large range of medical information on symptoms, conditions, diagnoses with diagrams and video tutorials, drugs and supplements used to combat medical conditions, dictionary, directories and recent health news. The website is easy to navigate through, reliable information contributed, current and constantly updated.

• The people who would mostly use this website are people who live in rural areas who have limited access to medical practices and facilities.


• Doctors or nurses may also use this website because it is constantly updated they can use it for clarifying any information they are unsure on or research any new information on current conditions.


• Normal people may also use it as a useful source of information for research on assignment, studying for a test or benefit of knowledge.

What would these people get from using this site?

• People living in rural areas because of the limited medical practices and facilities and distance they might be able to treat themselves for there condition without going to a medical practice.
• Looking on the site for information on there condition or the certain symptoms they might have if the diagnosis is just to keep warm, take some panadol or bandage the injury etc they do not need to go the medical practitioner. Though if there condition does require medical attention then they must notify medical authorities.
• Doctors or nurses will be able to find evidence on a condition and be able to clarify any problems or process the new information on a certain condition.
  People may also learn from the site a bit of First Aid in case of emergency or in time of need.
  

Readings

The first week 3 reading is a BBC news report on finding what you want on the web http://www.ithaca.edu/library/training/think60.html.This article talks about how to research information on the web effectively and efficiently, finding credible resources. The article is about how Google itself does rank it webpage’s to the actual information itself. The money a corporation may put towards getting its name on the top of the list. Therefore this is now a problem, people have to look far and between many of search engines to find the most credible information relating to there topic, as Google should not be the only place to research information.

The second week 3 reading is the University of South Carolina library Bare Bone Lesson 7: Basic search Tips http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/lesson7.shtml. These search tips are basic effective search tips on getting what you want when you are searching the web for particular information. Some useful tips include using plus and minuses in your search to include or exclude e.g. +Jaguar –Car, Using Boolean searches to enclose your search e.g. campgrounds OR reservations.

Workshop 2 - Office Applications

Lecture

Today’s lecture was focused on Application Skills. This included sub topics of common word applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Differentiating and using different file formats such as PDF for Adobe Acrobat Reader and carrying out common PC tasks such as using the Web and Microsoft Office.

Components of the lecture I learnt from and found most useful

• Recognising the differences between 2003 Microsoft applications (the edition I use at home) and 2007 Microsoft applications. This giving me the knowledge and skills to be able to perform the basic commands when I went into the Tutorial.
  


• Knowing how to use Adobe Acrobat Reader and what its purpose is for. The purpose of Adobe Acrobat Reader being a document that you are able to view the on the web and able to update more effectively and efficiently than a normal web page.

• Learning about the alternative Internet Explorer and media player applications besides from Windows Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player. Alternative Internet Explorer applications include AOL Netscape, The Mozilla Suite and Opera. Alternative media player applications include Winamp Real Player.
  

Tutorial

In the tutorial components Gary went through step by step on how to produce screen captures, using Microsoft office programs Word and Excel to be able to produce assignments to university standards.

Workshop 2 - Office Applications

Task 1 was to produce a screen capture and be able to put it in your Blogger post.

• Going to the desired page that you wish to produce a screen capture of, Press the print screen button on the keyboard.



• Open up MS Paint and right mouse click paste, the image of the page should come up
  


• Then save the image once it has come up inside paint and save the image in the appropriate and now I would be able to use this image in my blogger post.

Second task was using Microsoft Word 2007

Listening to the Microsoft Online tutorial http://www.baycongroup.com/wlesson0.htm I learnt how to conduct the following excercises .

Topics that we had covered today in using Microsoft Office
1. Shortcut keys

Ctrl Backspace, Delete Word

• Ctrl Z, Undo
  Ctrl Y, Redo



• Ctrl Home, Go to top page



• Ctrl Shift, Highlight words
  


• Ctrl A, Select whole document
  


• Ctrl C, Copy
  


• Ctrl X, Cut
  

2. Inserting a cover page (only avaliable on Vista)

• Click Insert icon
  


• Choose a cover page
  


• Print preview
  

3. Page Break.

• This features enables me to seperate work wihout pressing enter
  


• Placing my mouse cursor where I want to separate my work
  


• Clicking the insert icon
  


• Then clicking page break

4. Line Spacing

• Highlight Sentence typed up on Word
  


• Right Click mouse Paragraph
  


• Select double line spacing

5. Header and Footer

• Click Insert Header and Footer
  


• Choose Style that you want
  


• View header and footer by print preview
  

6. Page Break

• More effective and effecint than pressing enter to seperate work.
  

Able to seperate work by

• Clicking insert and then into page break
  

7. Word and number search finding function

• Able to find a certain word or number by using the function within the document.




• By pressing Ctrl F Finding key you brings up the search function.




• Then type in the word or number that may you are looking for in the document and it will come up.
  
  

Microsoft Excel O7

Microsoft Excel over the years has become an increasnigly popular and essential tool for many people over the years . Microsoft Excel has a number of purposes some of these uses include adding sums, making graphs and tables and representing statistics.

Excercises were completed by listening to the Microsoft Excel online tutorial http://www.baycongroup.com/excel.htm

Some basic tasks we were taught in class and I had learnt from the online tutorial.

Copy A Figure

• Highlight Figure



• Then Drag with the right corner box

New Sheet Colour and name.

Colour

• Click sheet tab
  
• Right click sheet tab
  
• click Tab colour and choose a colour
  

Name

• Click sheet tab
  
• Right Click sheet tab
  
• Click rename and choose an apprpoiate name for the data and infromation on the sheet
  

Adding up and subtracing figures

• Adding a figure use the function bar, put equal sign first, and type the cells that u want to be added up and put the anwser in a seperate cell eg Cell B7 =B1 + B2
  
• Subtracting a figure same rules apply except subtracing instead of adding

Readings

Week 2 Reading was on using Microsoft Word for APA tasks. The most useful tips I had retrieved and processed to using Microsoft Word was using the page break function, customising spell and grammar checks and avoiding irregular spacing . Page breaks allow me to space my work out without having to continuously press enter, to use the page break function I press CTRL Enter. Using customise spelling check and grammar allows me to turn on and off spell check when I want so I am not distracted by errors when typing. This is done by selecting Tools from the menu bar, Click on Options, click the Spelling & Grammar tab and click to remove checks from "Check spelling as you type" and from "Check Grammar as you”. Irregular spacing is seen usually when information is pasted into Word. To remove irregular spacing paste the text into a normal document first, highlight and copy the electronic text, select edit in the window, then paste and once the dialogue paste special appears select unformatted text. Sometimes assessment texts require a table of contents with dot leaders to sort information or topics.