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Chapter 8
How Do I Use Electronic Media?
You should always collect more material than you will eventually use.
WILLIAM ZINSSER
The Internet contains lists of sources and the sources themselves, which you can read on screen or transfer to your own computer. Read on to find out more about this useful reference source.
What Is the Internet?
The Internet is an expanding global information computer network. It's made of people, hardware (computers), and software (computer programs). Each regional network is linked to other regional networks around the world to create a network of networks: the Internet. It's rapidly changing the way we gather information and communicate.
With the proper equipment, you can access information from around the world—including text, graphics, sound, and video. From your computer, you can view masterpieces from the Louvre Museum in France, take an aerial tour of Hawaii, or dissect a virtual frog. You can search databases at the Library of Congress and read electronic newsletters. This

 

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makes the Internet a valuable source of information as you prepare your research papers.
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web (www) is a network of pathways through the Internet that connects "pages" of material—whatever can be sent electronically.
The World Wide Web is made of documents called Web pages, which can combine text, pictures, and sound. The home page is the entry point for access to a collection of pages. Specific words, pictures, or icons (special places to click) act as links to other pages. It doesn't matter where the other pages are located. Even if they are on the other side of the world, the computer programs retrieve them automatically for you.
Searching the Web
The Web is not like a library where information has been arranged within an accepted set of rules. It's more like a garage sale, where items of similar nature are usually grouped together—but not always. As a result, you'll find treasures side by side with trash. And, like a garage sale, the method of organization on the Web shifts constantly.
So how can you search the Web for information to use in your research paper? There are several different ways, each of them surprisingly easy. Here's how they work.
Search Engines
Search engines, which work with keywords, help you locate Web sites. You type in a keyword, and the search engine automatically looks through its giant databases for matches.
The more narrow the phrase, the better your chances for finding the precise information you need.
Example:
If you're interested in a college, don't use "college" as a keyword. You'll get millions and millions of responses. Instead, name a specific

 

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college, such as "The State University of New York at Farmingdale." This gets you to the precise Web page you need.
Here are some of the most popular search engines.
• AltaVista. It processes more than 2.5 million search requests a day. It's at http://www.altavista.digital.com.
• Excite. It has a database of 1.5 million Web pages that you can search by keyword or concept. It's at http://www.excite.com.
• HotBot. You can search by file name, geographic location, domain, and Web site. It's at http://www.hotbot.com.
• InfoSeek. This is a full-text search system. It's at http://www2.infoseek.com.
• Yahoo. One of the most famous search engines, Yahoo lists more than 200,000 Web sites in more than 20,000 categories. You can access other search engines from Yahoo as well. It's at http://www.yahoo.com.
• WebCrawler. It is used by America Online and can be found at http://webcrawler.com.
Since not all search engines lead to the same sources, you should use more than one. Bookmarks or hot lists (accompanying each search engine) help you mark sources to which you want to return.
URLS
If you already have the address for a Web site, the URL (Uniform Resource Locator), you can type it in. URLs are made of long strings of letters.
Example:
The address for the World Wide Web Virtual Library subject catalog is:
http://www.w3.org/pub./DataSources/bySubject/Overview.html
It's crucial that you type the address exactly as it appears. Pay special attention to periods, capital letters, and lower-case letters. If you are off so much as a capital letter, you won't

 

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reach the site. So if you're not getting anywhere with your search, check your typing for spelling and accuracy.
WAIS
Pronounced ''ways'' and standing for Wide Area Information Service, WAIS enables you to search for key words in the actual text of documents. This increases the likelihood that a document you've identified has information on your topic. You can use WAIS to search Web documents. See a reference librarian for detailed instructions.
News Groups
News groups are comprised of people interested in a specific topic who share information electronically. You can communicate with them through:
• A Listsery, an electronic mailing list for subscribers interested in a specific topic.
• Or Usenet, special-interest news groups open to the public.
Your reference librarian can help you hop aboard.
These sources allow you to keep up with the most recent developments in your area of research and may also point you to useful information and resources that could have taken you a long time to find on your own.
E-Mail
E-mail (electronic mail) lets you communicate electronically with specific people. Senders and receivers must have e-mail addresses. Specific programs act as "phone books" to help you find the person you are looking for.
Example:
Try locating someone through www.people.yahoo.com.
No matter how you search the Internet, there is help available electronically. Look for introductory screens, welcome messages, or files with names like "?", "Readme," "About...," "FAQ" (Frequently Asked Questions), or "Formulating a search with... ."

 

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Great Places
The following list contains some useful places to visit on the Web as you begin your research.
Note:
Every care has been taken to make this list timely and correct. But just as people move, so do Web sites. Since this book was published, the Web site may have moved. In that case, look for a forward link. If not, use "keyword" to find the new site.
1. Guide to the Web
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/guide/www.guide.html
2. Internet Resources
http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Meta Index.html
3. Library of Congress
http://www.lcweb.loc.gov
4. List of Web Servers
http://www.info.cern.ch/hypertext/DataSources/WWW/ Servers.html
5. Newspaper Links
http://www.spub.ksu.edu/other/journal.html
6. Sports
http://www.atm.ch.cam.ac.uk/sports/sports.html
7. U.S. Federal Agencies
http://www.lib.Isu.edu/gov/fedgov.html
http://www.fedworld.gov
8. Who's Who on the Internet
http://www.web.city.ac.ik/citylive/pages.html
9. Nova-Links
http://www.nova.edu/Inter-Links
10. Virtual Tourist World Map
http://www.wings.buffalo.edu/world

 

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Hints for Searching on the Internet
The Internet presents a vast number of widely distributed resources covering thousands of topics and providing many options for research in many fields. Often there is so much information that you may not know where to begin. Or maybe you haven't been able to locate what you're seeking.
The Internet is ever-changing
When people search on the Internet for a particular topic, they automatically let their past research experiences take over. As a result, many students start searching for library catalogs and reference materials.
These approaches may not always work because everything on the Internet is constantly being updated, improved, relocated, shuffled, and cut. When you do your search, don't expect something that you found today to be there tomorrow—or even a hour later. If you find material and need it, keep a copy of it. It's not enough to write down the address and plan on locating the site later.
Boolean Search
One of the best strategies to find a subject on the Internet is to use a Boolean search. It uses the terms "and," "or," and ''not" to expand or restrict a search. Here's how they work:
And
If you link two terms with "and" you get all the works containing both terms.

Example:
If you tell an electronic search tool to look for "national parks" and "pollution" alone, it lists all the works having to do with either subject. But if you link them with the word "and" by typing in "national parks and pollution,'' the computer narrows your search to only those sources in which both terms appear.
Or
If you link two terms with "or," the search leads to all sources that contain either term.

 

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Example:
Linking "national parks" with "pollution" tells the computer to list only works with either term.
Not
Using "not" narrows a search.

Example:
Telling the search engine to look for "national parks not Bryce Canyon" leads to all sources about national parks except those mentioning Bryce Canyon.
Relax!
No one is an expert on every facet of the Internet—it's simply impossible. While many people are skilled with the tools and have a good idea where to look for information on many topics, no one can keep up with the information flow. Fortunately, you don't have to understand everything to use the Internet quickly and easily. All you need are a computer, modem, and the time to explore different paths.
This chapter helped you hop aboard the Information Superhighway and start using electronic sources for research. Chapter 9 shows you how to track your research.

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