Week 3 - Online Libraries and Databases

Lecture:

Today's lecture was based on Online Libraries and Databases. I wasn't too familiar with the topic so I did learn various new things about this particular topic. I found today's lecture very interesting.

Main Points:
1. Advantages of Online databases:
- More than half of the content on the web is hidden and isn't accessible through Google but is accessible through databases.
- You have access to databases and online libraries at home.
-Databases and Online Libraries help narrow down a specific search.

2. Disadvantages of Online libraries and Databases
- It may be difficult to find specific information:
- Some information may be out - dated.

3. Online Databases are similar to Online Libraries.

Tutorial:

In today's tutorial we were given an opportunity to use databases. It was an interesting lesson because I had never used a database before. I used the database Oxford Journals to search the criteria needed. I learned many new skills regarding accessing particular information.

Workshop:



This is a Journal which definetely relates to the topic Economic Impact of Global Warming on Business. I used the Oxford Journals Database to find this article. It relates to the partiular topic because it deals with the issue of economic impact of climate change on African agriculture and how it has become a challenge for farmers due to climate change. The article uses data from a survey and it demonstrates an estimate of how farm net revenues are affected by climate change and it compares them with current mean temperatures.

Search Tips:

1. MetaQuest - Narrows down Databases and is useful because you may advance search a particular topic.

2. There is a variety of different Databases to choose from.

3. You may search by Faculty, Journal Articles, Reserve Readings etc. This gives you a better search option.

4. If you know the author's name or book title, it is much easier to find the data you need.

5. There is a choice of wether you would like to find Databases, Internet Sites or Guides.

6. ProQuest - Is a database which is very efficient because it allows the consumer to choose a date range for their specific search.

7. You are able to do a quick library catalogue search.

8. More than half of the information displayed on the databases may not appear in a search engine such as Google.

9. You may also search Books, CDs and more. This demonstrates that the search criteria does not have to be written.

10.You may limit results to documents with full text, to peer-reviewed publications and to document with images.

Medline Plus:

Medline Plus has a lot of useful information. I did search up various diseases such as cancer, heart disease etc. I think the website would be useful to a target audience of possibly students studying medicine at University. They may need to revise on particular information and I do think the site would be an excellent choice. I also think that mothers may find the website useful because it provides basic information as well as information on intellectual disabilities, so the website may also be useful to parents who have an intellectual child. The site may also be useful people with diseases because they may be interested in finding information on cures as well as the disease itself.



Reading 1: Finding what you want on the web

The Newspaper article 'Finding what you want on the web' reads that there are other ways of searching the internet without using search engines such as Google. The newspaper article is written by technology analyst Bill Thompson. Bill Thomson writes about his attempt to find specific data on the internet without using search engines. He mentions that there are many possible ways of searching the internet without search engines,but he does conclude that he finds search engines such as Google most convenient.

Reading 2: Bare bones Lesson 7: Basic Search Tips:

This particular document is quite helpful because it provides search tips to help the user find specific data. The document has tips such as to use the plus (+) and minus (-) signs in front of words to force their inclusion and/or exclusion in searches. EXAMPLE: +meat -potatoes. It demonstrates how to search particular words to find the information which is needed.