Communications Ch. 7

Advanced search

- Provides commands for making Web searches more precise

Research librarian

A career professional hired to assist students and faculty with their research

Reference work

A compilation of background information on major topic areas useful for doing introductory research or discovering a specific fact

Citation

A complete record of the source for a piece of evidence, including author, date, and where the evidence can be found

Web site

A group of one or more "pages" of personal, commercial, nonprofit, or other information organized within the World Wide Web and hosted on the Internet

Internet

A popular research tool connecting computers around the world and containing millions of Web sites and other resources of varying quality maintained by individuals, businesses, and organizations

Objectivity

A quality of credible sources by which they avoid bias - that is, prejudice or partisanship

Recency

A quality of credible sources that holds that because of our rapidly changing world, newer evidence is generally more reliable than older evidence

Quotation book

A reference work offering famous or notable quotations on a variety of subjects

Yearbook

A reference work that is updated annually and contains statistics and other facts about social, political, and economic topics

Dictionary

A reference work that offers definitions, pronunciation guides, and sometimes etymologies for works

Encyclopedia

A reference work that offers relatively brief entries providing background information on a wide range of alphabetized topics

Atlas

A reference work that provides maps, charts, and tables relating to different geographic regions

Web dictionary

A searchable index of reviews Web sites compiled by human editors and organized into categories and subcategories

Credible source

A source that can be reasonably trusted to be accurate and objective

Observational capacity

A source's ability to witness a situation for himself or herself, thus increasing the source's reliability

Hybrid search engine

A specialized online program combining a search engine and Web directory

Search engine

A specialized online program that allows users to conduct keyword searches and then provide links to relevant Web pages

Research plan

A strategy for finding and keeping track of information in books, periodicals, Web sites, and other sources a speaker might use to prepare a presentation

Abstract

A summary of an article's contents, often included in indexes

Metasearch engine

A type of search engine that searches with several different search engines at once

Periodical

A weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual publication, including newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals

Keyword

A word of term related to a topic, including synonyms of the word. Keywords are often used in online or database searches

Credibility

An audience's perception that a speaker is well prepared and qualified to speak on his or her topic. Trustworthiness, dynamism, and goodwill are also elements of a speaker's credibility

World Wide Web

An electronic, easily navigable global collection of text, graphics, audio, and video accessed through the Internet. A substantially more extensive source of information than any library print collection, but the credibility of the sources you find must be carefully assessed

What are the kinds of sources available for conducting library research?

Books, Periodicals, scholarly journal, peer-reviewed, Consult general periodical indexes, Full text sources, Abstract, Online general periodical indexes, Ask reference librarian, Newspapers

Evidence

Information gathered from credible research sources that helps a speaker support his or her claims

What are the steps necessary for creating a research plan?

Inventory your research needs - the goals you need to accomplish with your research Find the sources you need Keep track of your sources - YOU NEED TO CITE THEM.

Invisible Web

Online information, sometimes password-protected, that cannot be easily accessed using typical search engines. Search tools that specialize in finding information on the invisible Web

Paraphrasing

Putting someone else's ideas into one's own words and giving appropriate credit to the original source

Peer review

The act of subjecting articles submitted to a scholarly journal to critical readings by other experts in a particular field

Full-text source

The complete text of an article linked within an online periodical index

Top-level domain

The designation at the end of a Web address that indicates the site sponsor's affiliation; ex. .com, .org, .edu, .gov, .uk, .net

Research objective

The goal one needs to accomplish with research

Expertise

The possession of knowledge necessary to offer reliable facts or opinions about the topic in question

Power wording

The unethical practice of paraphrasing evidence in a way that better supports one's own claim but misrepresents a source's point of view

expertise

an expert source has education, experience, and a solid reputation in their field

How do you select the most credible sources

expertise, objectivity, observational capacity, recency

How do you present your research in your speech?

o Conduct the interview o Evaluate your notes o Fill in the gaps of what you haven't found o Document all your sources o Cite each source in your speech at the time you present evidence o Paraphrase responsibly

Why do you conduct research

o Helps you learn more about your topic before you select and develop your main points o It enables you to gather evidence to support your claims o Evidence may cause your audience to accept your point o When you are informed on your topic and provide compelling evidence, you gain credibility as a speaker o Gather evidence o Gain credibility Present the truth Best sources are close to event (recency)

What are the steps involved in conducting an interview?

o Prepare for your interview o Set up your interview o Plan your interview questions (open ended questions / ask questions they might want to avoid)

objectivity

provide no bias that would prevent them from making an impartial judgment on your topic

observational capacity

someone who was actually there to witness a situation; sources with training and expertise also make more credible observers

recency

use newer evidence over older evidence