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IMPORTANT
You'll want to have paper and pencil/pen handy to take notes while
you do this exercise. At the end, you will create a Word document
and send that Word document to your Library 10 instructor. You
are going to use different search tools (AllTheWeb, Google,
and a meta-search tool, e.g., Dogpile) to find good quality
resources on your topic and supply information about what you
found. BEFORE YOU START, READ THROUGH THIS ENTIRE PAGE.
1.
Go to the search engine AllTheWeb.
(Below is an image taken of part of the AllTheWeb
search interface. There are directions given following this image
to actually go to AllTheWeb on the Web.)
- From
the Cabrillo College Library homepage, click
on Search the Internet, then select Search
Engines, then select AllTheWeb
- Click
on Advanced Search (over on right)
- Examine
the choices available on the Advanced Search page. Decide whether
you need to refine your search in any specific manner.
- Enter
your search terms in the text box and search.
Find a good
Web page for your topic using AllTheWeb and note down
information about it.
- Examine the layout,
and look for the information you need to collect for an accurate
citation to a Web page.
- Sometimes you have
to think hard about what the real title of a Web page is. Graphic
images are often used that include the title and other information.
- Responsibility for
the content of the page is sometimes not easy to figure out.
Do not confuse the role of Webmaster (responsibility for layout
and design), or the publisher (sponsoring organization), with
the role of the author (responsibility for content).
2. Go
to the search engine Google. (Below is an image
taken of part of the Google search interface. There are
directions given following this image to actually go to Google
on the Web.)
- From
the Cabrillo College Library homepage, click
on Search the Internet, then select Search
Engines, then select Google
- A search on Google
will retrieve all the words you type into the search text box
(i.e., Google automatically inserts an AND between
your search terms).
- You can use quotation
marks to retrieve words in phrases (words in exact order, left
to right).
- You can restrict
your search to one kind of domain if you type the word site
followed by a colon : You then specify the
domain you want to retrieve.
Examples
If I were interested
in tax reform information from (U.S.) government sites, I could
use this search statement:
"tax reform" site:gov
If I were interested
in information about mummies in tombs in Egypt from (U.S.) educational
sites, I could use this search statement:
tombs mummies Egypt site:edu
If I were interested
in materials about developmentally disabled artists from a (U.S.)
non-profit organization, I could use this search statement:
"developmentally disabled" artists site:org
Find an education,
organizational, or government domain site in Google for
your topic (i.e., the domain name will include .edu, .org, or
.gov). Note down the information you will need to cite the source.
Look over this example
of an MLA citation for a Web site. This
citation is for a Web page from an organizational domain (.org),
and it has no personal author. When the name of the author of
a work is unknown, begin the citation with the work's title.
For the
Web page you find, note down its author
(if given), title of the page, date of page or last update,
name of sponsoring organization (if any), date
of access (i.e., today's date), and the URL.
3.
Meta-search tools allow
you to search more than one search engine from the same search
interface. Dogpile, IXQuick, and Metacrawler are 3 meta-search
tools. To get to the meta-search tools:
- From
the Cabrillo College Library homepage, select Search
the Internet
- Click
on Meta-search
tools
Select one
of the meta-search tools and use it to find information on your
topic. Note
down the information you will need to cite the source.
EXERCISE
Start a Word
document
(or some other wordprocessing program)
Put your name
at the top, and your Library 10 Section number
Title it: Information
about Web Pages Found through Two Search Engines and a Meta-Search
Tool
Research topic
-- briefly
state your research topic/question
1. Answer the
following questions for the page you found using AllTheWeb
1. Is there a named
author responsible for the information? Write the name down.
2. What is the title
of the page?
3. Is there a date
on the page, or a latest revision/update date, or a copyright
date? Write down the date (dates).
4. Is there a named
sponsoring organization? Write down the name of the organization.
5. Write down the
date of access (when you found and examined the page). You need
to keep a record of when you saw the page because Web pages
change and information available today may not be available
later.
6. Write down the
URL of the page. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of your
Web page is in the Address or Location box in the Tool Bar (towards
top of screen).
Supply the
following information for the Web page you found using Google
- Author (if any)
- Title of page
- Date of page,
or last update
- Name of sponsoring
organization, if any
- Date of access
(today's date)
- URL
Supply the
following information for the Web page you found using a meta-search
tool
1. Which meta-search
tool did you use?
2. What was your
search statement?
3. Write a complete
citation for a good Web site on your topic that you found. Use
the MLA citation guide. You can also refer to the MLA
citation given earlier in this page. The citation pattern
is as follows:
NOW: Email
your word processed document to your instructor as an attachment.
Instructor
email address: tosmalle@cabrillo.edu
Check out the sample
assignment!
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