Lab 1 Posts Post your Lab 1 comments here. Remember to do both Part 1 and Part 2 before making your post. The post should be 200-300 words and refer to specific examples that you discovered in completing the activity.
Using two databases to find information, you will receive an array of information in different context. Searching the web for topics you may use Google, which will provide you with relevant information that have been clicked on in the past by Google users searching for the same information. Google will try to find information that it believes is relevant to your search. Searching for “Organic Gardening” in the Google search bar I was directed to array of media such as articles, videos, images, and magazines. Google’s approach to the search was a “how to” on the first page showing web pages that gave methods to grow your garden, how to get started and advice. The second page of information once again gave advice, amazon books and groups and committees of organic gardeners. Google retrieved 30,000,000 results related to this topic that covered what the searcher would be in search of.
Switching to an online database results will vary and more likely have less results. The database searches for the exact keyword in the description or in tags. If searched correctly the database will bring in topics related to the search. Off the WIU database it pulled 3317 results. These results once again gave results about how to grow organic vegetables but it also gave results broader to the topic that surprised me. Topics such as pest control, guide to better soil, and topics on composting. The database also searched the topic be relevance to your search as well making the most relevant appear first, just like Google did. The media was limited however to only text, such as articles and books.
I believe that if the topic is large enough you will pull good information from both the search engine and database sites. Search engines will give you more media to choose from but the database will give you related topics that you did not think of before. Having positive results from both sources, I don’t believe having a lack of information could ever be a problem, if anything information overload may occur. If searched correctly using the correct terms I believe using a search engine and using a database is a successful method.
In terms of effectiveness, quality, and convenience, a web search is a better way to go. I searched for “educational reform” on both Google and the online database, EBSCO. The online database was great with 49 specific results. Out of the 49 results they all ranged from, first time students at a Midwestern University, managing tutoring aspects, and educational equity.
The effectiveness of using the online database is great because one can find exact topics of their research. However, Google brought in 45,100,000 results when I searched “teachers and education reform”, these results ranged from teacher’s primary role to teacher unions. I do not mind spending the extra time searching through Google to find the most effective sources.
With the overwhelming amount of results found by Google, it is hard to argue that quality is at its best. Still, this is where the user comes in and makes sure the results are reliable and credible sources from recognized authors and publishers. EBSCO may have a better quality in terms of ways for searching, but Google provides more search results to the related topic.
Hands down, Google is far more convenient than the library database. It took me twice as long to search for “education reform” on the library database. Surprisingly, with the less time I had with Google, it gave me a lot more to work with.
When it comes to the debate of a web search engine (in this case Google) vs. academic databases I believe it’s not an issue of quality versus quantity as much as quantity vs. context. When typing in the term “instructional technology” in the entry field of the journals tab on the wiu.edu/libraries/ page I received two results from the search. They were the International journal of instructional technology and distance learning and the Journal of instructional science and technology. The positive being that I would have great confidence in anything that I read on these journals knowing that they were likely created in academia and were most likely peer reviewed. The downside being that the search yielded only two results. However when typing “instructional technology” into the articles tab on the wiu library site resulted in 12,741 results. While browsing the first couple of pages the results looked pretty good. With a little more refining of my search terms would likely allow me to narrow down the results more specifically.
When typing in “instructional technology” in the Google search bar I received about 7,500,000 results in about 0.16 seconds. The first result being the Wikipedia page on “instructional technology”. For those unfamiliar with the term “instructional technology” this is an excellent place to start. However for those that have a large amount of knowledge about the field this result will likely be too broad. (Side note: WIU’s “instructional technology” was the third result to pop up). After scanning the first couple pages of search results it about 90% of the results were for colleges that had in IDT department.
So in recap, both search engines had their strengths and weaknesses. Google provide a large amount of search results in a familiar and easy way. The EBSCO database on the WIU library page provided much fewer results but they were more specific and I would feel much more confident in their accurateness.
A web search and a library search both have their pros and cons. Depending on what the user is trying to accomplish, a web search may be better or a library search could be better. When searching for ‘educational technology’ on Western’s library search, 22 results were displayed. While these sources are credible it might not be convenient since most of the results were specific about the kind of educational technology. Overall the library search is more quality in the material since you know it is a trustworthy source. It is also more effective than a web search because instead of having to look through a lot of articles, you can look through a few articles. If the user needs to look at various perspectives of the same topic, a library search may not be the best idea. When searching for ‘educational technology’ on Google there were 262,000,000 results. In .23 seconds. Most of the results were for schools with some sort of educational technology degree. The amount of results would be better for someone who doesn’t have to, but has the option to look through a lot of results to find specifically what they wanted. With Google, it has a better idea of what is more relevant to what you type in. Education technology a lot of the time relates to schools and in the library search it did not seem to know the more relevant tags. Overall, library searches are more effective and have more reliable material and web searches are more convenient. Depending on if the user needs a completely credible source they can use a library search, otherwise for personal use, a web search will suffice if they want to find something that is relevant quickly.
By searching the two types of databases, I would have to say that the web search in this situation is better in the terms of effectiveness, quality and convenience. I searched the term “Black History” and I received 2,060,000,000 results within 0.18 seconds. I used the academic online database and received 6,172 results. I would have to say that, that is a huge difference numerical wise.
Google gave me results ranging from history, bibliographies, archives, and a host of other valuable information. The academic database gave me academic reviews, news, academic journals and periodicals.
The only reason I say that Google was a better search engine was because the results were clear and arranged in a way that was better understandable for me. I can’t argue that EBSCO doesn’t have the capabilities to outshine other web search engines; it just all depends on the topic and what exactly the information is needed for.
My hopes for my web findings were to come across information that was relevant to background information on “Black History”, and Google provided that for me. As I stated before, it just all depends on what information one is looking for and what they are expecting to find. Overall, in this case Google web searches were more effective. That isn’t to say that I won’t ever use an academic database, I’ll just have to use it for certain purposes other than quick and reliable information such as Google.
When searching for a topic many people go straight to the web to get information, forgetting about the many professional databases there are out for help. Many people go to the web first because it seems faster and gets them quicker and more results. Searching on a database can do the same but will have a tad bit different result. I used the website Bing and searched "Technology". In a matter of seconds I came across over 490,000,000 results. That's a lot to look through to get simple answers. The good things about using the web to search for things is that you get the most relevant topics first, and if you cant quite seem to find what you are searching for you have many other links to look at. The cons about using the web is you might have too much information to look at. Also many of the sites might not be 100% accurate so there is a chance that some of the information on it might not be true. When I searched "Technology" on the school database, I came across a lot of pages that I could look at, but not as much when I searched Bing. The good thing I found about the database is that they put what you are searching for in categories which can make it very easy for you. The cons about it is that it might not be enough information and also it can be confusing. At first I didnt know what I was looking at until I started to click on links. Overall, both can be a great way to search for a topic but it depends on what you are looking for, how many results you are looking into finding, how big is your topic, and how long are you willing to look through different pages to find what you are looking for.
The topic I choose to do research on was exercise. I use the Google search engine and they were able to find 527,000,000 results in 15 seconds. I never notice instill today that Google times itself to see how long it would take them to find the information. I am really amazed that they were able to find so much information on one word. When I start clicking on the first couple of sites, they were giving me definitions of the word exercise and why exercising was good for you. Google was also able to find pictures of people doing exercise or diagrams and charts about your health. The search engine did give a lot of information on the word exercise and I do believe that I would be able to write a term paper on the information I found. The only thing I really notice is when I click on page 30 the information started to change. I was looking for the word exercise but the article start talking about health, stress, and nutrition. I still believe that information would be helpful but Google was changing the topic and that is why they had so many results. The school online database did not find as much as Google. When I type in the exercise they were only able to find 23 results and I did not locate a time on how long it took them to find those results. Reviewing the sites it shows me more details about the word history. Some of the sites are giving background information about the word exercise, which would also be very helpful in a research paper. The online database is able to give you dates and publications information, which might be required in a research paper. The same information might be on Google but you have to search for it, with the school online database the information is listed once you click on the topic, which is great. The difference between the two search engines is that the school online database stays on the topic exercise. Each article is about exercise, but they do talk about stress and health in the article but those words are not the main idea. I do think Google search was better because it was able to give me more information about my topic, but sometimes with teachers they only want you to use journals, magazines and scholar information. That would make the school online database better than Google.
Since the web is becoming more and more common now a days it is more likely for people to search online for something that they are curious about. For example, I typed music. More than a million results came in within the few seconds. Google showed me MTV shows, free downloads, youtube channels and anything else that is related to music. I can also easily find pictures of music on google images as well with in seconds. It is just a lot easier to search something in rather than looking for it in a book. The only bad part about google is you cannot always find everything you need in order to cite a source for a research paper. Some cites are not fully reliable.
Now, when I typed music in EBSCO I got a lot of pages that was about music and music books. If you were writing a research paper about music and needed good information I would say then to use the school online databases. They give you dates when the article came out so you know if you are looking at something that was from over a decade ago. I also like the school databases because you can easily make your search more specific and get something pretty similar on what you actually need. When you are doing a research paper and need to cite something, they make it pretty easy to cite as well.
If I am not typing a research paper for a class, I would prefer to use google because it is always in front of me whenever I am on the computer. Google is easy access and billions of results come up in less than 20 seconds. It is just a lot quicker for most people.
Using two databases to find information, you will receive an array of information in different context. Searching the web for topics you may use Google, which will provide you with relevant information that have been clicked on in the past by Google users searching for the same information. Google will try to find information that it believes is relevant to your search. Searching for “Organic Gardening” in the Google search bar I was directed to array of media such as articles, videos, images, and magazines. Google’s approach to the search was a “how to” on the first page showing web pages that gave methods to grow your garden, how to get started and advice. The second page of information once again gave advice, amazon books and groups and committees of organic gardeners. Google retrieved 30,000,000 results related to this topic that covered what the searcher would be in search of.
ReplyDeleteSwitching to an online database results will vary and more likely have less results. The database searches for the exact keyword in the description or in tags. If searched correctly the database will bring in topics related to the search. Off the WIU database it pulled 3317 results. These results once again gave results about how to grow organic vegetables but it also gave results broader to the topic that surprised me. Topics such as pest control, guide to better soil, and topics on composting. The database also searched the topic be relevance to your search as well making the most relevant appear first, just like Google did. The media was limited however to only text, such as articles and books.
I believe that if the topic is large enough you will pull good information from both the search engine and database sites. Search engines will give you more media to choose from but the database will give you related topics that you did not think of before. Having positive results from both sources, I don’t believe having a lack of information could ever be a problem, if anything information overload may occur. If searched correctly using the correct terms I believe using a search engine and using a database is a successful method.
In terms of effectiveness, quality, and convenience, a web search is a better way to go. I searched for “educational reform” on both Google and the online database, EBSCO. The online database was great with 49 specific results. Out of the 49 results they all ranged from, first time students at a Midwestern University, managing tutoring aspects, and educational equity.
ReplyDeleteThe effectiveness of using the online database is great because one can find exact topics of their research. However, Google brought in 45,100,000 results when I searched “teachers and education reform”, these results ranged from teacher’s primary role to teacher unions. I do not mind spending the extra time searching through Google to find the most effective sources.
With the overwhelming amount of results found by Google, it is hard to argue that quality is at its best. Still, this is where the user comes in and makes sure the results are reliable and credible sources from recognized authors and publishers. EBSCO may have a better quality in terms of ways for searching, but Google provides more search results to the related topic.
Hands down, Google is far more convenient than the library database. It took me twice as long to search for “education reform” on the library database. Surprisingly, with the less time I had with Google, it gave me a lot more to work with.
When it comes to the debate of a web search engine (in this case Google) vs. academic databases I believe it’s not an issue of quality versus quantity as much as quantity vs. context. When typing in the term “instructional technology” in the entry field of the journals tab on the wiu.edu/libraries/ page I received two results from the search. They were the International journal of instructional technology and distance learning and the Journal of instructional science and technology. The positive being that I would have great confidence in anything that I read on these journals knowing that they were likely created in academia and were most likely peer reviewed. The downside being that the search yielded only two results. However when typing “instructional technology” into the articles tab on the wiu library site resulted in 12,741 results. While browsing the first couple of pages the results looked pretty good. With a little more refining of my search terms would likely allow me to narrow down the results more specifically.
ReplyDeleteWhen typing in “instructional technology” in the Google search bar I received about 7,500,000 results in about 0.16 seconds. The first result being the Wikipedia page on “instructional technology”. For those unfamiliar with the term “instructional technology” this is an excellent place to start. However for those that have a large amount of knowledge about the field this result will likely be too broad. (Side note: WIU’s “instructional technology” was the third result to pop up). After scanning the first couple pages of search results it about 90% of the results were for colleges that had in IDT department.
So in recap, both search engines had their strengths and weaknesses. Google provide a large amount of search results in a familiar and easy way. The EBSCO database on the WIU library page provided much fewer results but they were more specific and I would feel much more confident in their accurateness.
A web search and a library search both have their pros and cons. Depending on what the user is trying to accomplish, a web search may be better or a library search could be better.
ReplyDeleteWhen searching for ‘educational technology’ on Western’s library search, 22 results were displayed. While these sources are credible it might not be convenient since most of the results were specific about the kind of educational technology. Overall the library search is more quality in the material since you know it is a trustworthy source. It is also more effective than a web search because instead of having to look through a lot of articles, you can look through a few articles. If the user needs to look at various perspectives of the same topic, a library search may not be the best idea.
When searching for ‘educational technology’ on Google there were 262,000,000 results. In .23 seconds. Most of the results were for schools with some sort of educational technology degree. The amount of results would be better for someone who doesn’t have to, but has the option to look through a lot of results to find specifically what they wanted. With Google, it has a better idea of what is more relevant to what you type in. Education technology a lot of the time relates to schools and in the library search it did not seem to know the more relevant tags.
Overall, library searches are more effective and have more reliable material and web searches are more convenient. Depending on if the user needs a completely credible source they can use a library search, otherwise for personal use, a web search will suffice if they want to find something that is relevant quickly.
By searching the two types of databases, I would have to say that the web search in this situation is better in the terms of effectiveness, quality and convenience. I searched the term “Black History” and I received 2,060,000,000 results within 0.18 seconds. I used the academic online database and received 6,172 results. I would have to say that, that is a huge difference numerical wise.
ReplyDeleteGoogle gave me results ranging from history, bibliographies, archives, and a host of other valuable information. The academic database gave me academic reviews, news, academic journals and periodicals.
The only reason I say that Google was a better search engine was because the results were clear and arranged in a way that was better understandable for me. I can’t argue that EBSCO doesn’t have the capabilities to outshine other web search engines; it just all depends on the topic and what exactly the information is needed for.
My hopes for my web findings were to come across information that was relevant to background information on “Black History”, and Google provided that for me. As I stated before, it just all depends on what information one is looking for and what they are expecting to find.
Overall, in this case Google web searches were more effective. That isn’t to say that I won’t ever use an academic database, I’ll just have to use it for certain purposes other than quick and reliable information such as Google.
When searching for a topic many people go straight to the web to get information, forgetting about the many professional databases there are out for help. Many people go to the web first because it seems faster and gets them quicker and more results. Searching on a database can do the same but will have a tad bit different result.
ReplyDeleteI used the website Bing and searched "Technology". In a matter of seconds I came across over 490,000,000 results. That's a lot to look through to get simple answers. The good things about using the web to search for things is that you get the most relevant topics first, and if you cant quite seem to find what you are searching for you have many other links to look at. The cons about using the web is you might have too much information to look at. Also many of the sites might not be 100% accurate so there is a chance that some of the information on it might not be true.
When I searched "Technology" on the school database, I came across a lot of pages that I could look at, but not as much when I searched Bing. The good thing I found about the database is that they put what you are searching for in categories which can make it very easy for you. The cons about it is that it might not be enough information and also it can be confusing. At first I didnt know what I was looking at until I started to click on links.
Overall, both can be a great way to search for a topic but it depends on what you are looking for, how many results you are looking into finding, how big is your topic, and how long are you willing to look through different pages to find what you are looking for.
The topic I choose to do research on was exercise. I use the Google search engine and they were able to find 527,000,000 results in 15 seconds. I never notice instill today that Google times itself to see how long it would take them to find the information. I am really amazed that they were able to find so much information on one word. When I start clicking on the first couple of sites, they were giving me definitions of the word exercise and why exercising was good for you. Google was also able to find pictures of people doing exercise or diagrams and charts about your health. The search engine did give a lot of information on the word exercise and I do believe that I would be able to write a term paper on the information I found. The only thing I really notice is when I click on page 30 the information started to change. I was looking for the word exercise but the article start talking about health, stress, and nutrition. I still believe that information would be helpful but Google was changing the topic and that is why they had so many results.
ReplyDeleteThe school online database did not find as much as Google. When I type in the exercise they were only able to find 23 results and I did not locate a time on how long it took them to find those results. Reviewing the sites it shows me more details about the word history. Some of the sites are giving background information about the word exercise, which would also be very helpful in a research paper. The online database is able to give you dates and publications information, which might be required in a research paper. The same information might be on Google but you have to search for it, with the school online database the information is listed once you click on the topic, which is great. The difference between the two search engines is that the school online database stays on the topic exercise. Each article is about exercise, but they do talk about stress and health in the article but those words are not the main idea. I do think Google search was better because it was able to give me more information about my topic, but sometimes with teachers they only want you to use journals, magazines and scholar information. That would make the school online database better than Google.
Since the web is becoming more and more common now a days it is more likely for people to search online for something that they are curious about. For example, I typed music. More than a million results came in within the few seconds. Google showed me MTV shows, free downloads, youtube channels and anything else that is related to music. I can also easily find pictures of music on google images as well with in seconds. It is just a lot easier to search something in rather than looking for it in a book. The only bad part about google is you cannot always find everything you need in order to cite a source for a research paper. Some cites are not fully reliable.
ReplyDeleteNow, when I typed music in EBSCO I got a lot of pages that was about music and music books. If you were writing a research paper about music and needed good information I would say then to use the school online databases. They give you dates when the article came out so you know if you are looking at something that was from over a decade ago. I also like the school databases because you can easily make your search more specific and get something pretty similar on what you actually need. When you are doing a research paper and need to cite something, they make it pretty easy to cite as well.
If I am not typing a research paper for a class, I would prefer to use google because it is always in front of me whenever I am on the computer. Google is easy access and billions of results come up in less than 20 seconds. It is just a lot quicker for most people.