2. What will you learn about?
• Session I:
– Internet information sources
– Which are free sources
• Session II:
– Scholarly information sources
– Which are not free, library pays $$
3. Web in Numbers
625 Million (estimate as of Nov 2012, Wolfram Alpha)
75% of people never look beyond page 1 of results.
1 page of results has ~10-20 results.
So, how does Google decide which 20 of 255 M to
show you on that single page?
7. From the “Filter Bubble”
"When confronted with a list of results from Google,
the average user (including myself until I read this
article) tends to assume that the list is exhaustive. Not
knowing that it isn't ... is equivalent to not having a
choice. Depending on the quality of the search
results, it can be said that I am being fed junk -because I don't know I have other choices that Google
filtered out.” – Eli Pariser
9. What can you do?
Some actionable, manageable steps to get started!
•Remain aware of how Google decides results
•Use advanced search strategies to get around filters and to
get to less-marketed content (like .edu, .gov, international
websites, etc.)
10. What’s in a Name? (A lot!)
• .edu domain
– educational site; from a U.S. college/university
• .org domain
– organization/non-profit site; promote advocacy
• .com domain
– commercial site; info on products for purchase
• .gov domain
– government site; info from gov’s point of view
• others: .ca, .uk, .ru, .fr, .de (these are country codes)
11. Search Exercises
Download practice
search exercises from
Exercises & Prompts
page on this site.
Missed class?
Definitely do these to
get ready for the
research narrative
assignment
12. In Our next Workshop:
•Some websites may be considered scholarly,
but most are not.
•The top websites returned in Google are
almost never scholarly.
•How do you determine what is “scholarly”!?
•We’ll look at this in Library Workshop 2
13. For help with research ask your information coaches – Marymount librarians!
Walk-in Help:
E-mail:
Phone:
Text:
all the hours we are open
library@marymountcalifornia.edu
310-303-7260
(424) 241-2489
Editor's Notes
This is typically where I work the blackboard to diagram how Google works.
This slide is in here strictly for those reviewing the materials online. I have never shown it in class.
And there typically is no time to show this in class, rather it’s supplementary learning material to the classroom discussion.
Moreover, this being a Google-produced video, it doesn’t include any critical commentary in it (e.g. personalizing, lower prioritizing of non-local content, marketing that goes on to get on page one by .com’s)
I may bring this slide up as another visualization re. PageRank and linking.
After the blackboard diagramming of how Google works – where we also talk about filtering/geographic localization – this segues into this 9 min Eli Pariser video.
Ask them to make note of what they found surprising, interesting, controversial … some prompt like that.
And then at the end of the 9 mins we talk and they share out.
Keep in mind the rule: it takes 16 sec for students to respond after asking the question. So be comfortable with some silence!
Much of this is often review by this point, from the blackboard diagramming.
Country domains are something new to them.
At this point we then start the hands-on advanced Googling, using the broad research topic or a more focused topic from class. Hand out the Advanced Google exercises. These exercises are optional, practice for their infolit narrative. However, you may find the instructor jumps in and wants them to do them before next class.
Suggested approach:
Do the familiar old basic Google search
Open up a new tab, use same search terms, but navigate to advanced.
Point out the site: field. Ask them if we were to give a specific command to Google to search only part of the web, using a particular domain, which one(s) would be helpful in the context of the research topic (e.g. .edu, .gov, .int, .org).
Then execute that search.
Actively read the URLs, pointing out the .edu/.gov/.int and some of the results.
Compare the basic search to the advanced. That visually is interesting for them to see how different the results can be.
Do another advanced search with a different field. I like to use “region” to show them how to go international in their
search (if they can’t remember country domains). Of course this works better in some topics than others. Again
reading the URLS and titles and making a quick comparison back to basic.
Using the site: field and region: field directly prepares them for the infolit narrative.
Resist the urge to try to show lots of the other fields, it’s overwhelming and not all of them return that great of a value to them where they are right now in their search skills development.
*This is only meant for those who are reviewing the materials online and missed class.
