Unit 3 - Reseach Log Entry

In your own words, describe the difference between a keyword search and a subject heading search.

well, the keyword search is a search where it searches for the key words i type in the search bar. Or in order words, it highlighted the key words/phrases I'm looking for and search for them. That's why the search results is more broad. The subject heading search is more precise because it eliminates the broad searches so there less results. I guess it searches for the key words/phrases AND the subject of the search as well. That's why the searches are more helpful.

Unit 3 - part 1 - The library Catalog

Research Log Entry
1. Topic- hydroelectricity
a) Author - Manore, Jean L.
b) Title - Cross-Currents : Hydroelectricity and the Engineering of Northern Ontario
c) Edition - unknown
d) Place of publication - Waterloo, Ont.
e) Publisher - Wilfrid Laurier University Press
f) Date of publication - c1999

2. Location - Electronic Book (located platform -> http://site.ebrary.com.bob.csueastbay.edu/lib/csueastbay/home.action )
link-> http://site.ebrary.com.bob.csueastbay.edu/lib/csueastbay/docDetail.action?docID=10135342
LC Call Number: HD9685.C33.O558 1999eb
Status - Online

3. Subjects heading: Ontario Hydro -- History. Hydroelectric power plants -- Ontario -- Moose River Watershed -- History. Moose River Watershed (Ont.) -- History.

4. relevant headings
a. Hydroelectric power plants -- Ontario -- Moose River Watershed -- History.
number of items - 1 entry

5.
a)Do you have more or fewer entries with your subject heading search than with your keyword search?
I have less entries with my subject headings search than with my keyword search.

b)As you examine these results, are they more on target than the results you retrieved from your keyword search?
Yes, they are more on target than the results i receive from my keyword search.

c)Why?
Well, i guess it narrow down the search. The key word search would just search for things that have the key words I'm searching for versus subject heading search which based the search on the topics I'm searching for. That's why i believed the results i receive are more narrow and exact. But then again, i only got one entry for my subjects heading and it all point back to the e-book i start out with. So i assume that book answers all the questions i might have or search for.

Sizing Your Topic

1)Your topic string -

a. Your broadest topic - natural resources
How many more years would it take for the world to used up all the natural resources?

b. Your next broad topic - Raw materials
Raw materials takes million of years to form.

c. Your starting topic - renewable energy
Renewable energy provides a another alternatives for the world to use as a energy source.

d. Your narrower topic - Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is electricity generated by water flow.

e. Your even narrower topic - Water flow energy
Water flow energy is the used of natural resource.

2) Think of two questions that you could ask about your topic
a. How much energy are generated using water flow?
b. What is the amount of watts are transferred from electricity power plant to a normal size town such as San Francisco?

Research Log Entry - 1 Point

a.What is Delicious?
Delicious is an online service tool to keep track of your bookmarks. They allow you to save, tag, see other people bookmarks, and manage those web sites. It does not limit you to only one computer and you could share your bookmarks to other people.

b.What is the advantage of this Web 2.0 tool?
Well there are many advantages for this web tool. It gives you an easier time to manage those bookmarks on more then one computer. You can also organize them by categories, and view other people bookmarks.

c.Do you think you might use it? If so, why? If not, why not?
I don't think i would like to use this web tool because i can manage my bookmarks fairly well, and could save and load my bookmarks on another computer if i wish. Although Delicious looks helpful, i personally don't think i would like to download and install this web tool just for the sakes of being able to manage my bookmarks and view other people bookmarks.

Research Log Entry - unit 1, part 2

Questions:

1. What question did you try to answer?
2. What terms did you select to begin?
3. What web search engine or engines did you use?
4. Search techniques
1. What search terms did you use?
2. What search techniques did you try?
5. Evaluation
1. How did you evaluate your results?
2. What conclusions did you draw about the different search engines? Consider

i. what was the same?

ii. what was different?

iii. Differences in numbers of results

iv. etc.

3. Why do you think the search engines behaved as they did?
5. What other questions came into your mind as you carried out this exercise?

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Answers:
1. Why the Atlantic Ocean is expanding?
2. "Atlantic Ocean expanding", Atlantic Ocean OR Expansion
3. I use google.com, ask.com and yahoo.com
4. a&b) I use "Atlantic Ocean expansion" and Atlantic Ocean AND Expansion with the Boolean Operators and quotation.
5.
a) I evaluate the sites by looking at the publish date, organize, the author, the cite souces, and how close its related to what im looking for.
b)well, i find that yahoo gave me the most unrelated sources. Ask.com and google.com are more helpful this time while looking for my sources. My results for the "Atlantic Ocean expanding" have about the same number of results for the 3 search engines but Atlantic Ocean AND Expansion provided large amount of results.

Ask.com -
"Atlantic Ocean expanding" - 12 results -> very close to what i was looking for
Atlantic Ocean AND Expansion - 204,700 -> lots of unrelated sources

google.com -
"Atlantic Ocean expanding" - 770 -> compare to other sites, this have the most sources ( the first few are helpful)
Atlantic Ocean AND Expansion - 697,000-> define the Atlantic ocean and things about it

yahoo.com -
"Atlantic Ocean expanding" - 17 results -> close related sources
Atlantic Ocean AND Expansion - 10,900,000 ->define the Atlantic ocean and things about it

c) I believed that the quotations helps narrow down the sources to what i was searching for.

6. Some questions comes to mind are:
About how long does it take until the Pacfic Ocean cease to exist?
Why don't the Pacfic OCean Expand?

Research Log Activity and Entry

Question:
1) What question did you try to answer? (1/2 point)
2) What search engine or engines did you use? (1/2 point)
3) Questions about your search (1 point)
3a) What search terms did you use?
3b) How many results did you get when you entered your terms? How many did you get when you used OR? Which set was bigger? Can you figure out why?
4) Evaluation (1 point)
4a) What questions did you use to evaluate your results?
4b) What conclusion did you draw about the value of the site and why?
5) Having conducted this research activity, what questions came into your mind that you could use to continue your exploration? (1 point)
--
Answer:
1) My question I want to answer is : "Why undeveloped countries have high birth rates?"
2) I used google as my search engine.
3a) the search terms i used are: undeveloped countries, third world countries, high birth rates, high fertility rate.
3b) questions asked on google:
**Why undeveloped countries have high birth rates? --> i have 248,000 results
**undeveloped countries or third world countries and high birth rates or high fertility rate --> i have 169,000 results.

I think the reason why my regular question is bigger because it was not specfic enough. So i believe that the question where i use "or" and "and" in my search bar, are more specfic and close to what I'm looking for.

4a) I used C.A.R.D.I.O to evulate my results.
C.urrency --> Is there a date and how current is the release?
A.uthority--> Who published the web page and does it contain footnotes?
R.elevance--> How close to the material im searching for?
D.epth--> what area or period does this material covered?
I.information Type--> Is this fact or opinion based?
O.bjectivity--> Is the article well written and well organized?

4b) I choose these sites --> http://www.answers.com/topic/overpopulation-1
and http://www.bioethics.iastate.edu/forum/partha.html
I choose these sites because they are fully cited, very well organized and very informational.

5)Well, two questions came into my mind as I could use to continue my reseach.
**What are the effects of overpopulation?
**What can the highly developed countries can do to help those underdeveloped countries control their birth rates?

Research Log

Question:
There were a number of concepts presented this week.
1) Which did you know already?
2) Which were new to you?
3) If you were given a research assignment and you chose the web as one strategy for your search, name three important evaluation elements you need to consider.
Answer:
1)I already know that Global warming, climate change, greenhouse effect are concepts.
2)The new concepts I didn't know are Third world countries, developing nations, and underdeveloped countries.
3) If i were given a research assignment and I need to seach online for information, there are three important evaluation elements I need to consider. The three elements I need to consider are: 1) analysis the question (understand the main concepts), 2) Narrowing down the question (by using Or, And and Not), 3) Brainstorm the related words of those concepts/synonyms to create a list = input those three elements together to search for the information.