I cannot imagine what I would do without search engines! For a start, doing an online degree would not be possible. For a change, searching the web for info is something I have some experience in because of online assignments and to search for that extra bit of info. The search engine is my oyster.
Google is my search engine but after looking into some of the other options we explored on this course, I might start using some other search engines. The results returned were quite good.
I had never used Copernic or ixquick before, nor had I heard about them. This course shows how ignorant I am! I downloaded Copernic and used it. I don't like Copernic's screen, too cluttered and the results returned were a bit difficult to read. Google definitely got that right. When I used the same term for my search, the volume returned from Copernic was only a fraction of what Google has offered, 32 compared with 27,000,000 hits (Google). When I added 'AND' human, I was told it's a default search, not necessary. Copernic did return slightly more results (42) with the word 'AND'. A search on ixquick returned 34 unique top-ten pages of 10,099,598 matching results. Not bad. The quality of all search engines used was very good, they even returned a search from Uniprot showing one of the searches used in bioinformatics.
My experience with boolean searching started years ago when simple web searches became no longer adequate for my assignments--we were required to quote from peer-reviewed papers. The use of boolean terms definitely returns more specific acedemic papers.
I use Google Scholar quite often when I'm writing a research-type papers. It is a fast way to find peer-reviewed papers! I usually type in my key words to find abstracts of papers, scan and select the abstracts I need, then go into Science Direct (courtesy of Curtin Library) to find the full-length papers from various journals. Sadly, I'm going to be cut off from Science Direct soon.
It is now possible to get some full-length peer-reviewed papers from Google Scholar FREE, if they are not current issues. I am overjoyed to get them free when some journals charge US$25-50 per paper! Human nature, we all like freebies?
I also use Wikipedia. Unfortunately, Wiki is NOT an acceptable reference source in our assignments because it's not peer-reviewed. However, Wiki is very useful as a starting point for searches because they are written in more user-friendly terms and their further advance reading references are pretty good. They often lead the readers into more technical fields.
PubMed searches use more advanced boolean terms because of the vast databases. It requires a lot of practice and patience! Example, I can search for 'complement factor B AND human[ORGN]' (abbreviation for organism, you can specify any organism) in their 'deep web'. There are tutorials for PubMed searches if anyone is interested. Have a look, it's very interesting--might pick up a few tips.
URLs:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/pubmedtutorial/
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/viewlet/search/journal/journal.html
I usually save all my searches in my hard drive, under specific topics or the name of the course. I find it convenient and easy to find my search results when I'm writing. Might have to revamp my database when I finish the degree.
Downloading tools/plug-ins
I have Adobe pdf reader, Flash/Shockwave Players, Apple Quicktime Player, Windows Media Player, all reinstalled recently because my computer operating system came to a grinding halt one night! They are all working fine now.
All my course work and daily news provider have substantial multimedia content, which I am able to read and download with these programs.
Download Accelerator is another very useful program. This program speeds up downloading time by 2 to 3x. The speed depends on whether you have the free version or the paid version. An added benefit is that the program has a 'resume' facility which means, if your download is interrupted, you can resume where you left off. Download Accelerator also integrates with your browser so that when you click 'download', the file downloads automatically but not in your browser, which would take longer.
URL:
http://download.cnet.com/Download-Accelerator-Plus/3000-2071_4-10037157.html
Have a look at this interesting article about Download Accelerator. http://www.ida.gov.sg/Publications/20071211150853.aspx
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