Scholarly and Academic Information Online - Presentation

Scholarly and Academic Information Online By: Dr. A. Ateka  Learning Objectives Explain what constitutes scholarly and academic information Identify and locate scholarly sources online Acquire basic criteria for evaluating information sources  Important Question...

Scholarly and Academic Information Online By: Dr. A. Ateka  Learning Objectives Explain what constitutes scholarly and academic information Identify and locate scholarly sources online Acquire basic criteria for evaluating information sources  Important Questions What is the Internet? How is it different from the WWW? What percentage of the Internet is visible and indexed by search engines? What is a search engine? What are scholarly and academic information sources? How do they differ from popular sources?  The Internet vs the Web The Internet - 1960 Definition: The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers and other devices that communicate using standardized protocols (TCP/IP). It is the infrastructure that allows various types of digital communication to occur. Components: Hardware: Includes physical components like computers, servers, routers, cables, and satellites. Protocols: Standardized rules that devices use to communicate. The most important ones are TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and IP (Internet Protocol). Services and Applications: Encompasses various services like email, file transfer (FTP), online gaming, streaming, and of course, the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web (WWW) - 1989 Definition: The World Wide Web is a service that operates over the Internet, providing access to a vast array of interlinked documents and multimedia resources. These resources are accessed using web browsers and identified through URLs (Uniform Resource Locators). Components: Web Pages: Documents formatted in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) that can contain text, images, videos, Web Browsers: Software applications like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari that retrieve, interpret, and display web pages. Web Servers: Computers that store and serve web pages to users over the Internet. HTTP/HTTPS: Protocols used for transferring web pages. HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, and HTTPS is its secure version, using SSL/TLS encryption. Key Differences 1.Scope: 1. Internet: Encompasses the entire global network of interconnected devices and all services operating over this network. 2. WWW: A specific service that operates on the Internet, enabling access to interlinked web pages and multimedia content. 2.Functionality: 1. Internet: Facilitates various forms of digital communication, including email, file transfer, and remote access, in addition to the web. 2. WWW: Specifically focused on accessing and sharing web pages and multimedia content via web browsers. 3.Protocols: 1. Internet: Uses a variety of protocols, including TCP/IP, SMTP (for email), FTP (for file transfers) 2. WWW: Primarily uses HTTP/HTTPS for transferring web pages and web- related content. 4.Usage: 1. Internet: Provides the backbone for a wide range of online activities and services. 2. WWW: Used for browsing and accessing information and resources through web pages.  Search Engines Search engines are powerful tools that help users find information on the Internet by indexing web pages and returning relevant results based on user queries How Search Engines Work 1. Crawling: Search engines use automated programs called crawlers or spiders to browse the web and discover new or updated web pages. These crawlers follow links from one page to another, collecting data about the content of each page. 2. Indexing: The information gathered by crawlers is stored in a massive database known as an index. The index contains a copy of each web page's content, metadata, and other relevant information that helps determine the page's relevance to different search queries. 3. Ranking: When a user submits a query, the search engine uses complex algorithms to rank the indexed pages based on their relevance to the query. Factors influencing ranking include keyword usage, page quality, relevance, user engagement, backlinks, and more. 4. Displaying Results: The search engine presents the user with a list of ranked results, typically on a search engine results page (SERP). Results often include snippets, titles, URLs, and sometimes additional information like images, videos, or rich snippets. Types of Search Engines: 1. General – Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo 2. Academic – Google Scholar, Pubmed 3. Specialized – Wolfram Alpha, Yandex, Archive.org 4. Metasearch Engines – Dogpile, Excite, Search.com. Webcrawler  What is Scholarly Information? A scholarly information source is a resource that has been written and reviewed by experts in a particular field of study. They are characterized by rigor as regards their levels of accuracy, reliability and objectivity. Non-scholarly sources - not necessarily authored by experts, often no peer- review, may lack objectivity, no evidence of research – references/citations. Examples are newspapers, magazines, blogs etc.  Characteristics of Scholarly Information Authorship – experts, credentials and affiliations are provided. Peer reviewed – reviewed by other experts to ensure quality and validity Citations and references are provided for verification Publishers - Academic institutions, professional organizations, and reputable academic publishers Language and structure that is appropriate for the field Audience – intended for researcher, scholars students in the field of study Types of Scholarly and Academic Sources Academic journals Books and monographs Theses and dissertations Conference papers Research reports – in-depth and often funded by governments Research data and data sets  Where to find Scholarly Information Online University repositories – deposit for theses and other scholarly works Open Access Resources – Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ); DOAB; CORE University Libraries – USIU- Africa Library Data repositories – Dryad, Zenodo, Figshare Conference websites – ACM, IEEE,  Educational videos and lectures – Moocs like Khan Academy, Cousera, YouTube Theses and Dissertation databases - Proquest and Ethos Government and Institutional Repositories – NIH. European Union Academic Networks and Social Media – LinkedIn, ResearchGate, Academia.edu Specialized academic search engines – Google Scholar, Microsoft Academic, BASE.  Evaluating Online Sources Criteria: Authority – who is the author? Accuracy – is the information supported by evidence? Objectivity – is the information presented without bias? Currency – is it up-to-date? Coverage – does it cover the topic comprehensively?  The End Questions??? Wrap-up Thank you! Merci! Asante!