Comparing WWW and Periodical Database Search Results

Research Assignment:

Comparing WWW and Periodical Database Search Results

This assignment will help you distinguish between the information found on the World Wide Web, information found on subscription periodical databases. You will also learn how to use ProQuest Direct, a periodical database that can be used for other research you undertake during your academic career. Your grade for this assignment will be based on 1) the quality of your search strategies in both Google and ProQuest Direct, and 2) the quality of your analysis of search results.

The assignment will be completed in the following stages:

1)  Choose a topic, and identify its key terms. For example, if you were conducting research on “the use of amniotic fluid for stem-cell research” your key terms would be

amniotic and stem cell

2)  Run the same search in Google and in ProQuest Direct periodical database. To access ProQuest Direct, go to libraries.stjohns.edu, and click on Databases A-Z. If you are off-campus, you will be asked to provide a user name and password. These are the same as you use for St. John’s Central.

Please Note: ProQuest Direct does not work the same way as Google. For a brief tutorial on using ProQuest Direct, go to

http://www.stjohns.edu/academics/libraries/research/tutorials/proquest.sju

3)  In a 750 word report, identify your topic, and compare the first 10 search results from Google with the first 10 from ProQuest Direct. (You will also attach a printout of the first page of the results list from both Google and ProQuest Direct.)

What general observations can you make about the Google results, compared with those from ProQuest Direct? Which search results would be better-suited to academic research?

To help guide your analysis, consider factors such as

Author? Who is the author, and what are his or her credentials? If no author is listed, who published the article or Web site?

Fact or Opinion? Does the article or Web site substantiate its claims with factual evidence, or does it only make unfounded assertions?

References? Does the article or web page include a bibliography or list of works cited? References are a good indication that the author has researched his or her topic.

Currency? Articles typically provide a publication date, but Web sites often do not. The importance of currency varies by topic. For topics such as business, computer science, and sociology currency is often very important. For topics such as history, literature, philosophy and theology, currency may not be as important.

Bias? Do you notice a greater amount of bias in either the articles or Web sites? Is bias present in both? One warning sign of bias is the presence of charged or emotion-arousing language. Another is the presentation of only one point of view on a controversial issue.