Searching for a local result
Local search, one of the more interesting developments in internet search technology to emerge overseas last year has now made its way to Australia, courtesy of Yahoo! Australia and NZ Local Search (http://au.local.yahoo.com).
The Yahoo! Local Search screen presents a regular, clean looking search interface, however there are two search boxes instead of one.
The first box asks you to “Search for…a keyword or business name”, and the second box asks for “In…a city, state or Post Code”. To use this new kind of search, you type what product, service or business you’re looking for in the first box, and a physical location in the second box. For example, you might search for “coffee” in “Kirwan”, or “wine tours” in “Tasmania” or even “removalists” in “4810”.
The Advanced Search pages offers even more options, such as narrowing your search to a specific street name. There is also a very useful Guided Search option which takes you through a search step-by-step.
Once the results of your search appear, you’ll see the name, address and phone number of businesses and organisations which match your search words and location. If Yahoo! doesn’t find enough results to match the location you searched for, it will automatically expand the search to surrounding suburbs or regions. It also offers some suggestions for similar categories of business or organisation.
Clicking on one of the results gives even more details. Most companies have further information about their products and services, links to their email and internet addresses (if available) and even a street map. Theses details can be printed or emailed.
Some practice searches for local businesses and services produced some unusual results for the local area. We assume that emphasis has been placed on the capital cities initially, and we’ll be interested to see if the local results improve over time. Fortunately there is a feedback page where errors can be reported, and businesses and organisations who don’t appear in a search can apply online to have their details added. Be sure to check out the “Help” page for more hints on using this interesting service.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Ph: 4773 8601
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
Monday, February 21, 2005
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Ensuring a tip-top reference
Most people at sometime in their lives will have the need to know how to reference webpages as a source of information, whether it relates to their own studies, that of a student in their family, or for a workplace report or document.
Referencing is a standardised method of acknowledging the sources of information and ideas you have used in an essay, assignment or report. At the end of your document, most organisations require you to provide a list of materials you have used, including webpages, in writing the document. This list is most often referred to as a bibliography. Sometimes this job is left until the last moment by many people and this can add great stress to the need to cite references correctly!
Different fields of study use different referencing styles and so it is important to find out which one your teacher, lecturer or business prefers. Once a style is chosen, the most important aspect of using it are consistency and accuracy. James Cook University Library has a useful list of the most well known referencing styles including explanations and links to other authoritative websites on the topic.(http://www.library.jcu.edu.au/LibraryGuides/refstyles.shtml)
The most important things to remember when referencing a webpage or online document are to include the author of the information (whether it’s a person, group or organisation), the date the information went onto the internet, the date you accessed the web page (since online information frequently changes), its title and the website address.
Providing a list of sources you have used to assist in the creation of your own work adds to your personal credibility as a scholar. It also shows respect to other researchers as you acknowledge their hard work. A great spin off is that it allows your reader to find further information on the topic. Lastly, a correct and truthful list of references combats plagiarism.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
http://library.thuringowa.qld.gov.au
Referencing is a standardised method of acknowledging the sources of information and ideas you have used in an essay, assignment or report. At the end of your document, most organisations require you to provide a list of materials you have used, including webpages, in writing the document. This list is most often referred to as a bibliography. Sometimes this job is left until the last moment by many people and this can add great stress to the need to cite references correctly!
Different fields of study use different referencing styles and so it is important to find out which one your teacher, lecturer or business prefers. Once a style is chosen, the most important aspect of using it are consistency and accuracy. James Cook University Library has a useful list of the most well known referencing styles including explanations and links to other authoritative websites on the topic.(http://www.library.jcu.edu.au/LibraryGuides/refstyles.shtml)
The most important things to remember when referencing a webpage or online document are to include the author of the information (whether it’s a person, group or organisation), the date the information went onto the internet, the date you accessed the web page (since online information frequently changes), its title and the website address.
Providing a list of sources you have used to assist in the creation of your own work adds to your personal credibility as a scholar. It also shows respect to other researchers as you acknowledge their hard work. A great spin off is that it allows your reader to find further information on the topic. Lastly, a correct and truthful list of references combats plagiarism.
Need some help searching the Web? Contact us and we'll do our best to help. Anything useful or interesting will be included in future articles (Confidentiality and your privacy are assured).
Thuringowa Library Services - Information Desk
Email: infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
http://library.thuringowa.qld.gov.au
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