The Internet can be a researcher's dream come true. By browsing the Internet, much as you would browse the shelves of a library, you can access information on seemingly limitless topics. In addition, web-based catalogs are available in many libraries to assist researchers in locating printed books, journals, government documents, and other materials.
Possibly the biggest obstacle facing researchers on the Internet is how to effectively and efficiently access the vast amount of information available with the simple click of the mouse. With the Internet's potential as a research tool, teachers must instruct and guide their students on manageable strategies for sorting through the abundance of information. The search for reliable resources can be both overwhelming and frustrating if students are left on their own in their initial search. A few simple guidelines can make conducting research more manageable, reliable, and fun.
The research process
Lessons and projects should be designed so that research time on the Web can be maximized in terms of efficiency. This may mean gathering necessary information beforehand, having students work in groups, or focusing on whole-class projects.
Barron and Ivers (1996) outlined the following cycle for online research projects.
Step 1: Questioning --- Before going on the Internet, students should structure their questions.
Step 2: Planning --- Students should develop a search strategy with a list of sites to investigate.
Step 3: Gathering --- Students use the Web to collect and gather information.
Step 4: Sorting & Sifting --- Students analyze and categorize the data they gathered on the Web.
Step 5: Synthesizing --- Students integrate the information into the lesson, and draw conclusions.
Step 6: Evaluating --- Students assess the results, and if necessary, begin the process again.
Searching the Web
There are millions of pages of information on the World Wide Web, and finding relevant and reliable information can be a challenge. Search engines are powerful tools that index millions of web sites. When entering a keyword into a search engine, you will receive a list with the number of hits or results and links to the related sites. The number of hits you receive may vary a great deal among different search engines. Some engines search only the titles of the web sites, and others search the full text.
One place to begin a web search is on the search pages that are maintained by Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer. If you click Search on the Netscape Navigator menu bar, you will go to a page that provides quick access to many different search tools. You can select the search engine you want to use from those pages rather than accessing each search engine site directly.
Techniques for using the different search tools vary. For best results, read the search tips or hints that are provided at each search site. Also, note that some of the search engines do not allow Boolean searches that combine words with the logical connectors of AND, OR, or NOT.
Common commands for search engines include:
· Quotation Marks ( " )
Using quotation marks will help to find specific phrases involving more than one word. For example: "Martin Luther King"
· Addition Sign ( + )
Adding a + sign before a word means that it MUST be included in each site listed. For example: + Florida + taxes
· Subtraction Sign ( - )
Adding a - sign before a word means that it will NOT appear in the sites listed. For example: + Washington -DC
· Asterisks ( * )
Asterisks can be used for wild-cards in some search engines. For example: Mexic* will look for Mexico, Mexican, Mexicali, etc.
A helpful hint for research activities
Be prepared for the unexpected
If you are planning to use the Internet as an integral part of an assignment, something can (and often will) go wrong. Since the Internet is constantly changing, always preview the sites to verify the addresses and the appropriateness of the content. In some circumstances, it may be appropriate to "whack" the site as a backup, using software such as Blue Squirrel Web Whacker. Whacking a site saves it to a local location, such as a computer or network drive. In case something does go wrong, you are able to continue the activity through the usage of this whacked site.
Below are 3 student activities. Complete all of the activities by following the directions, searching the appropriate websites, and answering all of the questions (in red) that follow. Save this document as “Username + Research tools” in your Computer folder.
Student activity #1
Using the major search engines on the Web, find the best way to look for a needle. Fill out the following chart, noting the number of hits you receive in each of the search engines for the word needle and the phrase "Space Needle." Then, answer the questions at the bottom of the page.
Search Engine / Search for: Ignatius / Search for: St. Ignatius of Loyola / Search for: +St. Ignatius of LoyolaBing (www.bing.com)
Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com)
Google (www.google.com)
1. Did searching for "St. Ignatius of Loyola" always result in more hits or less hits than searching for Ignatius? Did searching for “+St. Ignatius of Loyola” always result in more or less hits than searching for “St. Ignatius of Loyola”? Why?
2. Which search engine seemed to display the result fastest?
Student activity #2
Often a web site will state the terms and conditions for the use of copyrighted materials. The following activities require students to find this information on two different web sites.
The Graduate at Graduation from the Missouri Province
The Graduate at Graduation
The Missouri Province is the area of the Jesuits that De Smet resides in. Just as the church is divided up into dioceses, the Jesuits are divided into Provinces. The Missouri Province includes Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and Belize. They oversee all Jesuit Apostolates in these areas, including Jesuit Schools.
About this Site
From the Missouri Province web site, go to About this Site and use the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy to answer the following questions:
Questions:
1. Does the Missouri Province own the rights to everything on the Website?
2. What type of information does the Missouri Province provide?
3. If a web designer would like to link to this site, whom must they contact to get permission?
From the Missouri Province web site, go to the Who Are We link and begin to learn about who the Jesuits are in Missouri.
Questions:
1. How many Jesuit Communities are there in the Missouri Province?
2. List the Jesuit Communities in St. Louis.
3. Who is the Assistant to the Provincial for Pastoral Ministries?
What We Do section of the Province Website
Questions:
1. What are the 3 types of Educational Apostolates for the Missouri Province?
2. Who (or what group) authored the Graduate at Graduation on the Missouri Province website?
3. In the Jesuit Bulletin, who wrote the article about redesigning Fusz Pavillion?
What You Can Do section of the Province Website
Questions:
1. What are the 5 ways you can put your faith into action with the Jesuits?
2. Who do you contact in the Missouri Province if you want to become a Jesuit?
3. What is the Jesuit Run Retreat Center in St. Louis?
4. What is the Alum Service Corp?
Student activity #3
Explore the Missouri Province Website and look for the page about Jesuit Terminology to help you with the Crossword Puzzle.
Write your answers in the puzzle with your stylus
ACROSS
4. A mission or Endeavor
7. A regional organization for the care of Jesuits within its boundaries and for the governance of affiliated ministries and work
8. For the Greater Glory of God
9. from the Latin, meaning more
10. The people of a religious faith not in the clergy.
11. Head of a Jesuit Province
12. The first three letters, in Greek, of the name Jesus. These letters appear as a symbol on the official seal of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits / DOWN
1. Care for the Whole Person (2 words - no spaces)
2. A process of discovering God's direction and guidance in the concrete reality of our day-to-day lives
3. A Jesuit seminarian who has taken first vows and declared his intention to seek ordination as a priest.
5. The education and training of Jesuits is a multifaceted process, typically taking 10 to 12 years and involving seven stages: novitiate, first studies, regency, theology, special studies, tertianship, and final vows
6. Head of a Jesuit Community