computer history assignments

EMIS 1305: Computing Technology: Historical and Ethical Perspectives

Information Tools – Finding the Right Stuff

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Completing this assignment Information Tools – Finding the Right Stuff will help you learn to;

✓ Select and use the appropriate research methods and search tools for needed information; and ✓ Evaluate sources for quality of information for a given information need.

It is recommended to apply the features, methods, etc. learned in the Information Tools assignments

while developing your paper and presentation.

Read: You’re looking for information. Where you start depends on how you plan to use the information. The

sources you need for a class research paper often differ from information sources for personal use.

Information sources can be roughly divided into two categories: those that serve academic audiences and

those that serve consumers.

Can’t access what you need for a research project? Here are some common problems encountered by

students, and solutions that help you find the resources you need for a paper that earns you an A.

EMIS 1305: Computing Technology: Historical and Ethical Perspectives

Information Tools – Finding the Right Stuff

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Problem: Web search engines, such as Google, sometimes miss many of the articles most relevant for a

college-level research project because articles are often locked behind paywalls or firewalls that don’t

allow search engine access.

Solution: Go directly to a journal’s Web site and search there.

Problem: Many scholarly journals display only abstracts to the general public; viewing the full text of

articles requires a subscription or download fee.

Solution: Use your library’s online database to locate articles that are included in the physical collection.

You might have to go to the library to read the articles or ask for the full article from inter-library loan.

Problem: Access to academic search engines and databases, such as LexisNexis, requires subscriptions.

Solution: Your school might provide registered students with free access to journal databases if you log

in from a computer on the school network or from within the library.

Assignment:

Research about computers and technology relies on information from a broad base of sources. Let’s

explore these sources by comparing what they offer. Some searches will produce information suitable for

academic projects, such as term papers, while other searches tend to produce information suitable for

personal use, such as figuring out if someone is hacking into your home network.

To record the results of this comparison, use a screen shot of one example that you get from each source,

and then describe an academic project or personal use for which that information would be suitable.

Submit a Word document named StudentLastName-Information-Right-Stuff with all of your answers.

Also, use the above graphic information to help decide whether the source is academic/scholarly or more

for personal use.

Example Answer: search for cloud computing using Google Scholar and one of the results is:

This information is academic and could be a suitable source for a term paper about cloud

computing in a computer science course.

Okay, now see what you can do with the rest.

NOTE: Keep your submission readily available for another assignment later this semester.

1. Check Wikipedia for general information about e-waste and then look at the list of references. Select one of the references (go to the link).

2. Search for academic and trade books about e-waste at Amazon Books.

3. Search for conference proceedings about e-waste at the ACM Digital Library.

EMIS 1305: Computing Technology: Historical and Ethical Perspectives

Information Tools – Finding the Right Stuff

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4. Search an open access database such as DOAJ (see sidebar) for a recent paper about e-waste.

5. Search an academic database (see sidebar) for an abstract about e-waste.

6. Search Science.gov for a full text article about e-waste.

7. Search an online computer magazine, such as Wired, for a recent article about e-waste.

8. Use a search engine, such as Google or Bing, to locate a recent press release about e-waste.

9. Search Amazon Electronics for e-waste products and customer reviews.

10. Search a technology news site (see below) for the latest industry news about artificial intelligence.

Computer and Technology Academic Databases

DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)

Science.gov

TDG Scholar

Microsoft Academic Search

IEEE Xplore

CiteSeerX

ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) Digital Library

Technology News Sites

Huffington Post Tech

Engadget

TechCrunch

Ars Technica

Google News Sci/Tech

WSJ Technology

CNET News

Tom’s Hardware