Suggested citation format:
Ciolek, T. Matthew. 2005. Notes on the Internet Based Research Techniques. Indonesian Studies Graduate Summer School 2005, ANU, Canberra, January 31, 2005.
www.ciolek.com/PAPERS/online-research-techniques.html

Notes on the Internet Based Research Techniques

a seminar by
Dr T. Matthew Ciolek
Research School of Asian and Pacific Studies (RSPAS),
National Institute for Asia and the Pacific,
Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Email: tmciolek@coombs.anu.edu.au

Indonesian Studies Graduate Summer School 2005
Monday 31 Jan

- work in progress -

Est.: 31 Jan 2005. Last updated: 24 Oct 2008.

|| Opening Remarks || Library vs. The Internet || Online Sources of Information || About Good Work Environment ||
|| About Online Information || About Online Research || About Online Research Skills || Concluding Remarks ||

0. OPENING REMARKS

This seminar provides a general-purpose methodology.
Participants are stronly urged to further develop and hone their skills through extensive reading and through focused, deliberate "hunts" for specific items of online information.

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1. LIBRARY-BASED RESEARCH vs. INTERNET-BASED RESEARCH

1.1. Traditional Libraries (in the 1970s).

Time - access during limited days and hours only.

Space - access one collection (in one building) at a time.

Organisation of the collection - good, professional, standardised.

Stability - stable collection, cross-references very well maintained.

Trustworthiness of the collection - trustworthy.

Catalogues - separate from materials they describe.

Format - analogue (paper, microfilms and other objects).

Speed - slow extraction of information from sources.

Finding information - complicated and slow.

Interaction - mainly with the collection, sometimes with the reference librarians.

1.2. The Internet (in the 2000s).

Time - access during un-limited days and hours.

Space - access many collections (in many places) at a time.

Organisation of the collection - hopeless, un-professional, un-standardised.

Stability - un-stable collection, cross-references poorely maintained.

Trustworthiness of the collection - untrustworthy.

Catalogues - comingled with materials they describe.

Format - digital.

Speed - fast extraction of information from sources.

Finding information - easy (largely automated) and slow.

Interaction - with the collection, with other Internauts, rarely with cyber-librarians.

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2. ONLINE SOURCES OF INFORMATION

2.1. Born in analogue format (subseqyently converted to digital format).

Catalogues of libraries e.g.

www.nla.gov.au/libraries/path.html [Pathways to Australian Information].

www.nla.gov.au/apps/libraries [Australian & Overseas Libraries Gateway].

Catalogues prepared by the online bookstores, e.g.

www.amazon.com.

www.asiabookroom.com.

www.kkagencies.com.

www.ciolek.com/WWWVLPages/AsiaPages/VLBookshops.html.

Encyclopaedias & dictionaries e.g.

www.britannica.com [E. Britannica].

www.newadvent.org [Catholic Encyclopedia].

thesaurus.reference.com [Roget's Thesaurus].

Telephone directories e.g.

www.whitepages.com.au.

Other digitised books and Journals, e.g.

www.promo.net/pg [Project Gutenberg].

muse.jhu.edu/muse.html [Project Muse, humanities' searchable on-line journals].

www.jstor.org [JSTOR, over 1201 searchable on-line scholarly journals].

Digitised images, photographs, and maps, e.g.

kaladarshan.arts.ohio-state.edu [The Huntington Photographic Archive of Buddhist and Related Art].

coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVLPages/AsianPages/Asian-Historical-Photographs.html [Asian & Pacific Studies - Historical Photographs].

www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/index.html [Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection].

2.2. Born in electronic format.

Web sites with web documents (numbers, text, images, sound files, moving images)
over 56.9 mln web servers, in Dec 2004, over 101.4 mln servers in Dec 2006

(a) memorised URL.

(b) hypertext link in a directory or some other document.

(d) a search engine.

Directories (general purpose, specialist) e.g.

www.yahoo.com [general purpose directory].

coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVL-AsianStudies.html [specialist directory].

coombs.anu.edu.au/ACR/Acronyms.html [acronyms used by asian / pacific studies' scholars: a dictionary].

Search Engines (text, images, references to paper publications) e.g.

www.google.com. [a database of the contents of the Web]

scholar.google.com [a database of contents of scholarly books, journal articles, conference proceedings and academic Web sites

oaister.umdl.umich.edu [a database of contents of scholarly working papers and e-prints]

citeseer.ist.psu.edu [a database academic scientific information available on the Web]

www.scirus.com/srsapp/ [comprehensive science-specific search engine on the Internet]

www.ciolek.com/SearchEngines.html [Asian Studies WWW VL Search Engine *Simple engines: The Top Eight Databases *Simple engines: Asia Databases].

www.ciolek.com/http://www.ciolek.com/SearchEngines-2.html [Multi-Threaded Search engines].

www.ciolek.com/http://www.ciolek.com/SearchEngines-2.html [Other Databases *Using the Search Engines: Practical Knowledge *Search Engines Registers *Online Guides & Query Systems ].

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) [which contains material not normally visible to Search Engines] e.g.

ftp://coombs.anu.edu.au.

(sometimes such an anonymous ftp archive might have a web interface:)

coombs.anu.edu.au/CoombswebPages/Coombspapers.html.

Discussion & News groups e.g.

groups.google.com [over 1 mln messages in Jan 2005]

archivum.info [In Oct 2008: 45,478,894 archived messages extracted from 12,098 mailing lists & newsgroups.]

Databases

Gazetteers, e.g.

www.nla.gov.au/map/worldgazetteers.html. [Gazetteers of the World and Beyond]

www.ciolek.com/OWTRAD/gazetteer-00.html [major online lat/long gazetteers of use to historians].

Corporate directories, e.g.

coombs.anu.edu.au.

www.uni-erfurt.de/ostasiatische_geschichte/index_en.htm.

Documents, e.g.

coombs.anu.edu.au/asia-www-monitor.html#database.

Mailing lists e.g.

L-Soft International, Inc. (eds.). 2008. CataList, the official catalog of LISTSERV lists.
www.lsoft.com/lists/listref.html [details of 52,218 public mailing lists in Oct 2008].

www.opensubscriber.com [mail-to-web gateway which archives and displays public mailing lists and groups]

tile.net/lists [a directory of email discussion lists, and email alerts]

News sites and newsfeeds e.g.

news.google.com [an aggregate of news from over 4,500 sources].

coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVLAsian/VLAsiaNewsfeeds.html [Coverage: * Asia-Pacific latest news * Terrorism * Afghanistan * Australia * Bangladesh * Bhutan * Burma * Cambodia * Caucasus * Central Asia * China * East Timor * India * Indonesia * Iran * Iraq * Israel * Jordan * Japan * Korea * Kuweit * Laos * Lebanon * Malaysia * Nepal * New Zealand * Oman * Pakistan * Papua New Guinea * Philippines * Qatar * Saudi Arabia * Singapore * South Asia * Sri Lanka * Syria * Taiwan * Thailand * Tibet * Turkey * UAE * Vietnam * Yemen].

2.3. Born as human beings.

Experts, e.g.

info.anu.edu.au/mac/Media/Experts_List/index.asp

www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/southasia/cuvl/directory.html

Professional advisors [e.g. reference librarians, receptionists].
Rank-and-file internauts [ = people met online, esp. members of mailing lists].

The size of mailing lists varies from 30 - 4,000 subscribers. The number of subscribers has consequences

CIOLEK's LAW:
The volume of free ranging discussions and the volume of spontaneously expressed ideas are inversely related to the number of subscribers to the list.
The volume of announcements and Q&As is directly related to the number of subscribers to the list.

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3. ABOUT GOOD WORK ENVIRONMENT

3.1. Hardware.

adequate computer.
fast connection.
reliable connection.

3.2. OS & the Software.

web browser.
word-processor.
several windows opened at the same time.
email client.

3.3. Digital literacy & common sense.

familiarity with various types of software.
ability to work in a variety of environments (e.g. paper + standalone computers + unfamiliar computers + one's own computer).
ability to work with files in various formats (excel, text, word, pdf, html).
ability to convert one format into another.
ability to backup and protect valuable information.
knowledge of basic netiquette.

4. ABOUT ONLINE INFORMATION

4.1. Properties of Online Information.

4.1.1. Types of information acc. to the electronic format.

(a) text (text and numbers).
(c) software.
(b) image (text, numbers, graphics, movies).
(c) sounds (music, speech, special effects).

Materials which are full-text indexed are easier to find than those which are not

Standalone materials /networked materials - Networked materials are easier to find than those which are not.

4.1.2. Types of information acc. to the online longevity.

Longevity of the content, or of the online address?

(a) perishable (chiefly news, chats, individual email).
(b) semi-stable (most of the web) .
(c) permanent (archives and repositories) .

Threats to digital materials
- sabotage and deliberate destruction
- hacking (theft, manipulation, defacing, destruction) of materials
- obsolescence of hardware
- obsolescence of software
- accidental loss of data (errors, blunders, accidents, disasters)
- loss of record of existence of the materials
- loss of an electronic path to the materials
  See also
The more permanent contents and address, the easier is to find the information.
4.1.3. Types of information acc. to the online accessibility.

(a) visible vs. invisible parts of the Internet.
(b) public vs. restricted access.
(c) free vs. at a cost.

4.2. Anatomy of scholarly information.

'Target' information.

(a) data - an assembly of meaningful facts.
(b) model - a configuration of meaningful facts (can be reverse engineered to get data from it).
(c) theory - a configuration of promising models (i.e. a model of models).

Metadata information.

4.3. Forms of metadata.

Pointer to the information (eg. bibliographic record, ISBN, a review, index)
- by using it you will knowwhere to find the required item of information.
Door to the information (e.g. URL, a phone number)
- by using it you will be able to access, get hold of the required item of information.
Navigation marker (e.g. chapter name, page number)
- by using it you will know where you are (you will orient yourself) within the body of information.
Information decoder (e.g. scale and a legend on a map; a glossary of terms, a list of acronyms)
- by using it you know what is the range and significance of various items of information you are working with.
Content indicator (e.g. keywords list, abstract, TOC)
- by using it you establish in advance what is the body of information most likely to be about.
Structure indicator (e.g. TOC)
- by using it you establish what is the overall format and architecture as well as the organisation of the key elements of the body of information in question.
Provenance indicator (e.g. author, date, publisher details)
- by using it, you figure out the geographical, social and temporal context of a given body of information.
Purpose indicator (e.g. labels such as "map", "dictionary", "statistical table"; "bibliography"; "album of photographs")
- by using it you determine the kind of data [numbers, text, images, graphs, sound etc.] you are likely encounter and the type of operations you can peform on them [browse, read, view, analyse, recalculate, compare, chart and so forth].
Quality indicator (e.g. publisher's logo, author's institutional affiliation, date of publication, ranking on a bestsellers' list).
Attention grabber (e.g. recommendations, blurbs, reviews).

4.4. Functions of the metadata.

Find - metadata help to locate a possibly relevant subset of data within the global information soup;
Focus - metadata help to eliminate uninteresting alternative materials;
Preview - metadata help to see a sample, a specimen of the interesting material;
Access - metadata helps to connect to and download the complete information resource;
Traverse - metadata help to navigate across and smoothly process the obtained material;
Interpret - metadata provide the context for drawing correct inferences from the obtained material, they reveal and establish possible relationships between a given chunk of information and other informational chunks.

5. ABOUT ONLINE RESEARCH

5.1. Types of research activities.

(a) find the altitude of the Austin-Goodwin mountain, or the date of birth of Admiral Horatio Nelson.
(b) locate online a book or an article about Nelson and access it online or in a library.
(c) locate online a person (determine mail/email/phone contact) who is an expert about Nelson and ask what is the book/article she recommends.

(a) finding answers through posing specific, directly answerable questions (= you know a lot about the research topic).
(b) searching, surfing, browsing, scouting, tawling for sources of possible answers (= you know a bit about the research topic).
(c) preparing - seeking guidance and high level advice (= you do not know much about the research topic at all).

Sooner or later, meandering and searching need to be either abandoned or replaced with the finding.
The more specific question the faster it can be answered.
Questions about 'nouns' (what, who, where, when) are easier to answer than 'questions about 'verbs' (how, why, to what effect).
A seasoned researcher always avoids chasing information and, instead, always tries to make information chase him. The seasoned researcher always secures help from others.

5.2. Types of online research.

5.2.1. Ad-hoc investigation (single question, performed on a spur of the moment)
Requires: Good Research Skills + Browsing.

5.2.2. One-off projects (several questions, spread over limited time)
Requires: Good Research Skills + Browsing/Trawling + Data Collection Plan.

5.2.3. Extended research (several questions, spread over an unlimited time)
Good Research Skills + Browsing/Trawling + Data Collection Plan + Enlisting help from Internauts.

5.3. Ingredients of successful long-term online research.

5.3.1. Data collection plan.

Determine the range of questions. Write them down.
Determine the range of possible online and off-line sources. Write it down.
Determine strategies for obtaining various types of answers
Timing and sequence of data collection (determine what needs to be known first and why).
Determine ways to handle and reconcile any conflicting data.
Determine milestones and deadlines. Time must be budgeted. A possible allocation of time for research: 10% research itself (online and off-line); 30% - clarifications, refinements and analyses; 60% - writing-up discussion of the results and conclusions.

5.3.2. Enlisting help from Internauts.

Work with mailing lists.

Convincing self-introduction.
Participation in online Q&As conducted across mailing lists & chat rooms.
Provision of voluntary editorial and technical help to those agoras.

Online publishing.

innovative and factual content.
user-friendly formats for one's publications.
providing credits and acknowledgements.
providing timely notifications about updates to one's online resources.

In short, the following online behaviours are at premium - brevity, factuality, politeness, doing the ground work beforehand, reasonable timing of one's requests.

see again

Rinaldi, Arlene H. 1998. The Net: User Guidelines and Netiquette. Florida Atlantic University.
archived copy at: web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.fau.edu/rinaldi/netiquette.html

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6. ABOUT ONLINE RESEARCH SKILLS

6.1 Familiarity with the Internet's history.

Ciolek, T. Matthew. 1999. Internet Structure and Development: On Strategic Uses of the Archetypes of the Networked Mind
www.ciolek.com/PAPERS/pnc-taipei-99.html.
Ciolek, T. M. 2003. Travels in Asian Cyberspace: A Brief History of Asian Studies Online
www.ciolek.com/PAPERS/asian-studies-online-2003.html.
Gillies, James and Robert Cailliau. 2000. How the Web was Born: The Story of the World Wide Web. Oxford: University Press.
Zakon, Robert H. 1993-2005. Hobbes' Internet Timeline: The definitive ARPANet & Internet History.
www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline/.

6.2 Good skills with libraries and the modern Internet.

Badke, William. 2004. Research Strategies: Finding your Way through the Information Fog, ACT Seminaries, Trinity Western University, Canada.
www.acts.twu.ca/lbr/preface.htm
[Preface; 1. Taking Charge; 2. Databases; 3. Information Fog; 4. Periodical Maze; 5. Internet Research; 6. Other Resources; 7. Case Studies; 8. Learning to Read; 9. Organizing Notes; 10. Research Writing]

6.3. Good skills with antiquated systems.

Kehoe, Brendan P. 1992. "A Beginner's Guide to the Internet: Zen and the Art of the Internet", First Edition, January 1992 [www.cs.indiana.edu/docproject/zen/zen-1.0_toc.html] (2nd edition: Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1993).
Rosenfeld Louis, Joseph Janes, and Martha Vander Kolk (eds.). 1995. The Internet Compendium - Subject Guides to Humanity Resources. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.
Ravia, Fjalar. 1988. Robin Hood's how to search Lessons.
www.searchlores.org/robinsta.htm
[1. An overview; 2. Search engine searches; 3. Special searches].
Internet FAQ Archives
www.faqs.org/faqs/
[1. Search the FAQ Archives (by Newsgroups, Category, Multi-Page Digests), 2. Other Information Related to Usenet FAQs, 3. Popular Usenet FAQs (3500 most populars FAQs), 4. Internet RFC/STD/FYI/BCP Archives]..

6.4. Good cognitive skills.

persistence - ability to perform a lengthy, indirect search (ability to string together a series of interim steps, each contributing to the final discovery).
ability to work with more than one language.
ability to provide alternative spellings of names.
ability to spot typing errors in online addresses (incl. email addresses).
ability to re-define, re-cast a fruitless query.
ability to work in a confused and crowded information environment.
having navigatational skills (ability to jump from level to a level within a web site).
ability to track several bits of information simultaneously.
ability to keep a log of online inquiries.

6.5. Ability to evaluate the soundness of digital resources.

Alexander, Janet E. and Marsha Ann Tate. 1999. Web Wisdom: How to Evaluate and Create Information Quality on the Web. London, UK & Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Smith, Alastair. 1996-present. Evaluation of information sources. Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
www.vuw.ac.nz/staff/alastair_smith/evaln/evaln.htm.

6.6. Ability to correctly cite digital resources.

Greenhill, Anita and Gordon Fletcher. 2003. Electronic References & Scholarly Citations of Internet Sources.
www.spaceless.com/WWWVL/.
Xia Li and Nancy Crane. 1995. Bibliographic Formats for Citing Electronic Information
archived copy at: web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.uvm.edu/~ncrane/estyles.

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7. CONCLUDING REMARKS

Online research is a skill - practice keeps improving it.
Online research = detective skills (i.e. an ability to spot and interpret clues (meta-data) which will lead one to the desired target information).
Therefore.

be alert & thoughtful.
verify and evaluate (a) meta-data; (b) online target data.
be in control of your operations, do not get distracted.
keep a log of your online investigations.
allow time for delays and mishaps.
cooperate with other people online.
plan your research well ahead.

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