January 29, 2007
Interesting assessment whether there is a qualitative difference in the sources selected for a bibliography depending on whether the student used Google, Google Scholar or another database
Helms-Park, Rena, Radia, Pavlina, and Stapleton, Paul. A preliminary assessment of Google Scholar as a source of EAP students’ research materials.The Internet and Higher Education, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 22 January 2007.
However, there were two crucial differences between Google and the other two search mechanisms. The first lay in the high proportion of problematic sites accessed through Google: Of the 11 lowest-quality sites, found to be unacceptable in two, three, or all of the four bands of WATCH, nine were located via Google. The second difference lay in the degree to which substandard sites found through Google diverged from academic norms. Participant 12, for example, contemplated the future of marriage by referring to a divorce reform site, which, upon closer examination, reveals a confusing mix of religious and commercial agendas. The same student also referred to an “About.com” site, which turns out to be a pop-psychology version of “How to Improve Your Marriage in 10 Days.” Similarly, Participant 21’s source entitled, “The Catholic Church’s Handbook on Ethics in Advertising,” also accessed through Google, had an obvious religious agenda in spite of being presented by its sponsors as a mainstream guide on advertising ethics. Links to academically weak sites such as the three above are rarely, if ever, generated by Google Scholar or the library’s e-search.
January 26, 2007
A good short (2-page) summary of E-Book issues from Educause.
The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative. 7 Things You Should Know About E-Books. 2006
Abstract: E-books offer new ways for readers to interact with content. An e-book that abandons the notion of reading from front to back, for example, encourages readers to take an active, self-directed role in how they learn. E-books incorporating audio, movies, and simulations facilitate deeper understanding of subject matter, while annotation features let users customize a text. The “7 Things You Should Know About…” series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning practices and technologies. Each brief focuses on a single practice or technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use “7 Things You Should Know About…” briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.
There’s an interesting article in the most recent Journal of Scholarly Publishing on plagiarism and the academic community and publishing world’s responses. It’s interesting to think about in context of university efforts to stop plagiarism in students. Should we bother, when this is the reaction to plagiarism by scholars after their student years?
Harms, Dan. “Plagiarism, Publishing, and the Academy.” Journal of Scholarly Publishing 38.1 (2006) 1-13.
Abstract: While plagiarism claims have skyrocketed, the response within academia to scandals among its members has remained ambivalent. While most people are willing to proclaim plagiarism as a serious offence, our actions when confronted with cases among our colleagues often vary considerably. While this has been going on, mergers, tough financial times, and the growing quest for short-term bestsellers have transformed the publishing world, both on a broader scale and within academic publishing in particular. This has created a situation in which the goals of publishers and those of academia with regard to intellectual dishonesty have diverged considerably. Several recent examples are described in which misunderstandings have developed regarding the role publishers play in maintaining scholarly integrity. The author also describes his own experience, in which a publishing company chose an explanation geared more toward its own interests than to that of scholars when handling a report of plagiarism. Calling attention to these events should not be perceived as demonizing publishers and blaming them for misconduct. Rather, uncertainty within the academy makes it easy for those outside it to render academic judgements irrelevant and to set their own policy. Instead, academics should begin a candid discussion on the importance of maintaining or altering plagiarism rules in order to have a stronger and more unified voice capable of more influence on outside parties, whether students, corporations, or media.
January 25, 2007
Worldcat Collection Analysis (WCA) is a tool that subject librarians and collection development staff can use for collection assessment.
OCLC is creating a set of Effective Use Scenarios for WCA. The first is now up, Analyze Collection Gaps is a set of Powerpoint slides that shows how to set up an analysis of a library collection for gaps (you need to use Internet Explorer to access the slides). The next scenario is to be on ways of using WCA for a digitization project.
January 17, 2007
Interesting interview that talks about his efforts to work with libraries, how he framed the algorithm for LT tag clouds, etc.
January 9, 2007
This study was released just a few days ago, part of Pew’s ongoing review of online activities. It focuses on teens’ use of online social networking sites. Most of it is not that surprising, but it does focus in on a few things that I think are interesting. For example, most of the teens surveyed are using these sites not to meet people, but to stay in touch with people they already know and interact with.rnrnhttp://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/198/report_display.asp