Internet

Does the Internet make you feel

like this?
 What is the Internet about?
• Have access to information from all around the
globe

• You can find local and international news,

weather reports, sports scores, stock prices, do
your baking, shop on-line.

• At your fingertips, you can send messages to

others, meet new friends, take a course and
watch a movie - all from your computer
 What is the Internet about?
• You can access the Internet from a
computer anywhere.

• Success in business today requires an

understanding of the Internet and how it
works.
 History of the Internet
• Goal was to build a network that would
allow scientists at different locations to
share information and work together on
military and scientific projects.

• Today, a variety of organizations,

companies and private individuals
contribute to the network .
 History
• No single person, company, institution, or
government agency controls or owns the
Internet.
 Reality of searching on the
Internet
• No two similar searches on the Internet
will show the same hit results.

• The information on the Internet changes

by minute and Web sites that is available
today may not be there tomorrow.

• You can not believe everything that is

posted on the Internet.
 Terminology
• Internet is a worldwide collection of links
that connects businesses, universities,
education institutions and individuals
 Terminology
• World Wide Web / WWW / Net / Web is
a portal of the Internet. It consists of a
collection of documents stored on
computers around the world.

• Web page is a document on the Internet

that can include text, pictures, sound,
video, graphics etc.
 Terminology
• Web Site is a collection of Web pages.

• Search engine is a software program you

can use to find Web sites, Web pages and
Internet files.
 Terminology
• Web browser: is a program that allows
you to view and explore information on the
Internet e.g. Internet Explorer.
 Terminology
• Browse to search the Internet for
information.

• Surf - slang for browsing – to search for

information on the Internet.
 Terminology
• URL each Web page has a unique
address called a Uniform Resource
Locator. You can instantly display any
Web page if you know its URL
• http://www.google.co.za
• http://www.google.com
 Terminology
• Beware of Stealth URLs
• Adult Web sites adopt URLs similar to
popular Web sites.
• Entice children to access these Web sites.
• E.g. Nintendo, Barbie, White House
 Search engines
• A search engine is a tool designed to
search for information on the Internet.

• The search result are usually presented in

a list and are commonly called hits.

• The information may consist of Web

pages, images, information and other
types of files.
 Search engines
• Search engines work by storing
information about Web pages, which they
retrieve from the Internet itself.

• These pages are retrieved by a Web

crawler (also spider) an automated Web
browser which follows every link it sees.
 Search engines
• The usefulness of a search engine depends on
the relevance of the result it gives back.

• Most search engines employ methods to rank

the results to provide the “best” results first.

• The research results from different search

engines varies widely from one to another.
 Search engines
• It is important to remember that when you
use a search engine, you are NOT
searching the entire Web as it exist at that
moment.

• Some information is only available on the

Invisible Web (Deep Web), and can only
be access by using subject directories.
 Before you start to search
• Think about your search before you begin.

• Create a search strategy in your head.

• Decide if you only want to brows for information

or locate a specific piece of information.

• Retrieve everything you can.

 Search Strategy
• Step 1
• Analyze your topic to decide where to begin?

• What unique words, distinctive names,

abbreviations or acronyms are associated with
your topic?

• Can you think of societies, organization, or

groups that might have information on your
topic?
 Search Strategy
• What unique phrases can you identify in your
topic?

• Can you think of synonyms or equivalent

terms? After all a dog is also a canine, a pooch,
a mutt, a hound, a pet and man’s best friend

• Can you think of variant spelling of words?

 Search Strategy
• STEP 2
• Decide which type of search engine to
use
• Keywords - Google
• Directories - Yahoo, Aardvark,
• Meta search engines - DogPile,
 Search Strategy
• Step 3
• Change and vary your approach.
• Try something different (search engine)
• Look while you search you may pick up
tips.
 Guidelines to successful
searching
• Be specific - “Hurricane Hugo”

• Use nouns and objects as keywords –

fiesta dinnerware plates cups saucers

• Put the most important term first –

• +hybrid +electric +gas +vehicles
 Guidelines to successful
searching
• Use the asterisk (*) to find plurals of
words – retriev* returns retrieves, retrieval,
retriever and any other variation.

• Type keyword in lowercases to find both

lower and uppercase variations –
president retrieves president and
President.
 Guidelines to successful
searching
• Use more than two keywords –
interaction vitamins drugs

• Use quotation marks (“”) to create

phrases so that the search engine can find
the exact sequence of word – “bye bye
miss american pie”
 Guidelines to successful
searching
• Use a hyphen alternative – email vs e-
mail

• Limit search by language.

• Use uppercase characters for Boolean

operators in your search to differentiate
between the words and the operators –
cats AND dogs NOT mice
 Guidelines to successful
searching
• Combine keyword wherever possible into
phrases – “ search engine tutorials”

• Avoid common words e.g. water, unless

they form part of a phrase – “bottle water”

• Think about words you expect to find in

the document and use it as keywords –
anorexia bulimia eating disorder
 Guidelines to successful
searching
• Write down your search strategy and
revise it before you type it into a search
engine query box.

• It help to revise your search strategy if

your hits were unsuccessful
 Guidelines to successful
searching
• Try an alternative search engine, do not
stick to just one.

• Use the plus sign (+) to combine words -

• Look for alternative ways of spelling a

word – col*or returns color (America) and
colour (British)
 Guidelines to successful
searching
• Look at alternative ways of phrasing a search –
district six, district 6, districtsix

• Use the advance search field of a search

engine.

• Combine keyword with phrases using the

double quotes and the plus sign and/or the
minus sign -
+cowboys +“wild west” -football -dallas
 Guidelines to successful
searching
• Before you use a search engine read
about its help function / or about
function.

• Read the FAQ of a search engine, it

provide helpful hints on how to search.
 Advance search strategy
• Enter what you are looking for in the
search field, followed by the word site and
a colon (:), and then the domain name.

• admission site: www.utoronto.ac

Before you click to view the page
• Evaluating Web pages skilfully requires you to
do two things at once:

• Train your eye and your fingers to employ a

series of techniques that help you quickly find
what you need to know about the Web.

• Train your mind to think critically, even

suspiciously by asking a series of questions that
will help you decide how much a Web page is to
be trusted.
Before you click to view the page

• Look at the URL

• Is it somebody’s personal Web site or
page
• ~ or % or users or members
• Look for a personal name - personal
Web site are not necessarily “bad”, but
you need to investigate them carefully
Before you click to view the page

• Domain name
• Is the domain extension appropriate for
the content?
• Government sites look for gov, mil
• Education or academic sites look for edu,
ac
• Non-profit organizations look for com, org,
net
Before you click to view the page

• Domain name
• Country code look for au, sa, za, uk, us, fr

• Country codes no longer tightly controlled

but can still indicate where the page
originate from
 Why is it important to evaluate
what you find in the Web?
• Anyone can put information on the Web
 Why is it important to evaluate
what you find in the Web?

• Many pages are not updated and the

information becomes absolute.

• No control exist about the quality and

trustworthiness off the information
available on the Internet.
 Why is it important to evaluate
what you find in the Web?
• Web pages are created with a specific
purpose in mind – They do not simply
grow in the Web like mildew
 How to evaluate a Web Page
• Can you tell who wrote it?
• Name of page author?

• Name of the organization, institution, agency do you

recognize it?

• E-mail and contact details

• Authors credentials on the subject

 How to evaluate a Web Page
• Credentials for the subject matter?
• Looks for links to: “About us” “Philosophy”
“Background” “Biography”

• Is it current?
• Look for “last updated” date
 How to evaluate a Web Page
• Are there any links to other Web page?
• Does the links open?

• Look for a link called “additional sites” “related

sites” “related links”

• Look who link to that We page

• Are there many links?
• What kind of sites does link to it?
 Evaluating Web Pages
• Was the page put on the web to
• Inform – give facts or data
• Persuade / explain
• Sell / entice

• Is it appropriate for your purpose?

• Think about the “tone” of the page

• Is it as credible and useful as the resources

available in print or through the library.
 Do some detective work
• Search the URL in alexa.com
• Click on “Site info for …”
• Who owns the domain?
• Who links the site?
• What did the site look like in the past?
How do you feel now?