Casting Your Net: A Student's Guide to Research on the Internet » (2nd Edition)

The first comprehensive guide to conducting academic research on the Internet.

The book assumes a certain familiarity with standard research procedures (e.g. library and notetaking skills) and a general computer literacy, but assumes little experience with the Internet. All the major researchable modes of the Internet and their respective search engines are covered, from the early technologies FTP, WAIS, and gopher, which still have usefulness today, to the current favorites, Usenet and the World Wide Web. Also included are sections on the listservs and e-mail. All discussion of finding and evaluating Internet-based information occurs within the context of typical student research, showing how the Internet fits into finding a topic, shaping and narrowing the focus, drafting and revising the paper, and integrating and documenting the source material. Discussions are machine and interface independent, applying to Windows, Macintosh, and text-based computers.

For anyone interested in increasing their internet research skills.

“Exercises” conclude Chapters 3-7.

Preface.


1.Academic Research and the Internet.

The Graphical Interface to the Internet.

The Internet Domain Name System.

What's on the Internet.

Final Words.

2.Evaluating Sources.

The Internet vs. Print Media.

Other Points of View.

A Checklist for Evaluating Internet Material.

3.Boolean Logic.

Venn Diagrams.

4.Searching the Internet.

Introduction.

Search Engines.

Keyword Searching.

Boolean Logic and the Query.

Other (Non-Boolean) Logical Operators.

Ranking the “Hits.”

Constructing Effective Queries.

Refining Your Queries.

5.Communicating.

FAQs.

Moderated vs. Unmoderated.

Email.

Discussion Lists (Listservs).

Usenet (Newsgroups).

6.The World Wide Web.

Introduction.

The Structure of a Web Page.

A Note on Lynx.

Web Search Engines.

A Final Note on Searching the WWW.

7.America Online.

The Internet with AOL.

America Online Proprietary Services.

Searching AOL.

8.Specialized Internet Sources.

Super-Sites.

Pay-Per-Search Sites.

The Electric Library.

Online Library Resources.

9.Writing the Paper.

Evaluating and Using Sources.

“The Alternatives.”

Appendix 1: A Critical Look at a Usenet Thread.


Appendix 2: Documenting Sources from the Internet.


Appendix 3: Glossary of Useful Terms.


Appendix 4: Other Internet Technologies.


Index.