Research and Thinkingfor the 21st Century Going Beyond Google

Topics

What makes Google great (Meta search

engines)

Beyond Google

Differentiated Searching

Evaluating web resources

What Makes Google Great LINK

Breadth & depth Ranking technology 12 file formats Cached pages Advanced searching Toolbar Images News Viewer

Beyond Google: Meta Search Engines Do not crawl the web themselves to build databases

Allow users to search multiple Search Engines at one time with one search

Present results from various Search Engines together on one page

Maximize coverage Clustering

Google and Yahoo comparedhttp://www.langreiter.com/exec/yahoo-vs-google.html

http:www.dogpile.com

http://clusty.com

http://www.zuula.com/

http://www.gigablast.com/

Visual Search

http://www.quintura.com/

http://redz.com/

http://www.search-cube.com/

http://www.viewzi.com/

http://search.spacetime.com/

www.dmoz.org

Choosing the Best Search

NoodleTools http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html

Great chart that connects the information need to the search strategy

Assessing the Quality of Information on the Internet

Dilbert on Critical Thinking

CRITICAL EVALUATIONWhy Evaluate What You Find on the Web?

Anyone can put up a Web page about anything

Many pages not kept up-to-date

No quality control most sites not “peer-reviewed”

less trustworthy than scholarly publications

no selection guidelines for search engines

Web Evaluation Techniques Scan the perimeter of the page

Can you tell who wrote it ? name of page author organization, institution, agency you recognize

e-mail contact by itself not enough

Credentials for the subject matter ? Look for links to:

“About us” “Philosophy” “Background” “Biography”

Is it recent or current enough ? Look for “last updated” date - usually at bottom

Web Evaluation Techniques

Indicators of quality Sources documented

links, footnotes, etc. As detailed as you expect in print publications ?

do the links work ?

Information retyped or forged why not a link to published version instead ?

Links to other resources biased, slanted ?

Web Evaluation Techniques

What Do Others Say ?

Search the URL in alexa.com Who links to the site? Who owns the domain?

Type or paste the URL into the basic search box

Traffic for top 100,000 sites

See what links are Similar pages

Look up the page author

Web Evaluation Techniques

STEP BACK & ASK: Does it all add up ?

Why was the page put on the Web ?

inform with facts and data? explain, persuade? sell, entice? share, disclose?as a parody or satire?

Is it appropriate for your purpose?

Let’s a Take Look Dihydrogen MonoxideSounds like a very dangerous chemical indeed. It's actually H2O, but if you're not of a scientific mind this site will get you every time.

Save the Tree OctopusVery well put together site and perfectly believable.

RYT HospitalWell put together website, linking into a number of other spoof sites, and from a quick view looks entirely bono fide.

The Ova Prima FoundationThis site has scientific 'proof' that the egg came first. Very well done, with todays date, various sections and very academic looking.

Fake Sites The Centaur ExcavationsVery well done, with photographs, created in a good academic style with an .edu domain. Actually explaining a hoax, but from a quick look it's easy to be fooled.

Clones R UsProviding information on their 'cloning' operation for human beings. FAQ, price list, testimonials. Quite slick and professionally put together, though the price list is a giveaway.

Save the Guinea WormWell put together site, very credible, but the URL gives the game away.

Fake Sites Online Pregnancy TestThis shouldn't really fool people, but I suspect that it does. You may need to try and be scanned twice to confirm that you are actually pregnant.

People for the Ethical Treatment of AlgaeThe title says it all. It's not particularly well done, in that there isn't a great deal of information there, and it's quite a basic site.

Petrol DirectBuy your petrol direct and have it delivered. It sounds like a sensible deal.

Fake Sites Baby cagesInfant confinement specialists since 2001. This is one of those 'it's probably not true... is it?' sites that you can't be absolutely sure about.Dehydrated waterA commercial website selling dehydrated water. Very well put together.

Free electricity projectCampaign for free electricity. Very busy, and while it's well done I think it's a bit too over the top to be entirely believable.

Exercises 1) Find the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Inflation Calculator and discover what the buying power of $100 spend in 1948 would be today.

2) Find a site that will allow you to see when the sun will be rising and setting in Monterey on June 13, 2009. Check Baghdad while you are there.

3) Where would you go to find out who owns the GGooooggllee trademark name and when they got it?

Exercise Answers

1) BLS Inflation Calculator -- http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

2) U.S. Naval Observatory Sun Rise and Sun Set data http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.html

3) US Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=login&p_lang=english&p_d=trmk

Exercises 4) Where would you go to find a map showing real time earthquake data?

5) Where can you go to find the number and types of missiles China has transferred and to which countries since 1950?

6) You’re getting ready to deploy to Japan, how can you find out what the Yen is currently worth according to the Feds?

Exercise Answers (2)

4) USGS Earthquake Website [with maps of recent activity] http://earthquake.usgs.gov/

5) SIPRI Arms Transfers Database http://armstrade.sipri.org/

6) Federal Reserve Board Foreign Exchange Rates [updated daily] http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h10/update/