Internet Research

ENG 106: Composition 2

Lesson 8: Library Research
Oct. 14-18, 2002

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to do each of the following without consulting notes or other resources:

Use URLs, subject directories, and search engines to find Internet sources.
Define relevant terms.

Assignments

Please complete the following assignment before coming to class on Tuesday:

Post a rough draft of your definition.

Activities

Our class activities this week include the following:

Think Fast: Use what you have learned in previous classes to try to find information related to your definition on the Internet.

Presentation: Internet Research (Professor Canada and Ms. Saylor)

Cooperative Learning: Collaborate with a partner to find more material on the Internet. Experiment with URLs, subject directories, links, and search engines.

Workshop: Exchange drafts with a partner. Evaluate your partner’s definition. In particular, comment on the claim, support, and clarity. Note whether the sources are credible.

Think Again: Using what you have learned in the workshop, begin revising your draft.

Conferences: While the rest of you are working on the “Think Again” exercise, I will meet with some of you in one-on-one conferences. During this time, I will review some of your writing, orally quiz you on lesson objectives, and field your questions.

Announcements: We will wrap up this lesson with announcements regarding upcoming lessons, as well as other relevant subjects.

Terms

Make sure you know the meaning and significance of each of the following terms:

Browser
Internet
search engine
subject directory
URL

Resources

You can find more information about the subject covered in this lesson by consulting the resource listed below:

SF Writer: Student Resources: Web Directories and Search Engines features links to numerous Internet resources.

Librarians’ Index to the Internet is a credible subject directory.

Introduction

Now that you know how to use subject encyclopedias, periodicals, and other print sources, we turn this week to Internet resources. We will meet in the electronic classroom in the library on Tuesday. On Thursday, we will meet in our regular classroom, Dial 147.

Discussion

The Internet is an international network of computers connected by wires such as telephone lines. Because many people post information on the Internet in the form of World Wide Web sites, it can be a useful research tool. Nevertheless, because the information on the Internet tends to be less credible, less thorough, and somewhat harder to find, you generally should use the Internet only to complement your library research. You can find information on the Internet in four basic ways. First, if possible, try typing in a site's URL, or Web address, directly. If you don't know the address, try guessing. For example, you might guess that the URL for the University of North Carolina is www.unc.edu, and you would be right. Second, try visiting a subject directory, such as www.looksmart.com, where you can look for subject headings and narrow them down until you find links to Web sites on your subject. A third approach is to use a search engine, a computer program that looks through information on the Web and gives you a list of sites relevant to your interests. When you use the Excite search engine, for example, you type one or more key words into a white box and click on "Search." The next screen to appear will feature links to Web pages related to these words. To visit one, click on one of the links and write down the URL for future reference. Finally, once you reach a Web site on your subject, click on its links, which probably will lead you to other Web sites related to your subject.

Conclusion

Having completed this lesson, we will turn next week to a fourth kind of argument, causal analysis. Please note that you definitions are due on your Web site at 8 a.m. Monday, October 21.