#researchlog

ENTRY 002

Watermelon Capybara (Hydrochoerus melonis)

I am currently enrolled on an online course called ‘Developing Your Research Project’ provided by University of Southhampton and powered by Futurelearn.com. I enrolled on this course because despite obtaining a degree in humanities, my knowledge in research and methodology is weak. I hope to improve my understanding by conducting some social research using this course to guide me through.

The course encouraged me to begin my research log before I have even chosen my topic. This is because my research question is likely to change over time, and there will be a need to do some primarily reading before I delve too deeply into any one area.

The course also stressed the importance of understanding your interests, as research projects can be very demanding and the innate passion of your subject will help provide a much needed motivation boost when research becomes stressful and/or repetitive. 

In this blog post, I will be evaluating the effectiveness of Temasek Polytechnic Library Database as well as the effectiveness of Google search engine.

But first, what is Google and what is a library database?

Google is an American multinational technology company that specialising internet-related services and products. In this blog, an evaluation on Google will be done to see if Google is as effective as the majority believes. The library database is an electronic (online) catalogue or index. Library databases contain information about published items. Library databases are searchable. The library subscribes to many databases hence having access to these resources. When you’re searching a database, you are not searching “the web”.

The following steps were taken to do the comparison of the Temasek Polytechnic Library database and Yahoo Search Engine.

1)      The following search options are used that are under Temasek Polytechnic Library Database:

-          LexisNexis Academic

-          ProQuest Business, Science, & Sociology

-          Newslink:

2)      The following search options are used that are under Google search engine:

-          News

3)      The search keyword for all the search options would be ‘Urban Transport Pod’

4)      A screenshot of the search results shown in the pictures above.

5)     The relevant search criteria is as followed:

- Keywords to appear in the results

- the year of article posted from 2014 to 2016

 This is because technology is always improving. So relevant of articles must be the latest. Hence, the newer the article, the more relevant it is. 

6)      Among the search results, the number of relevant results are recorded.

7)      A screenshot of the most relevant search result from each search option is given.

8)      Comparison of relevant results

9)      Conclusion of effectiveness of Temasek Polytechnic Library Database and effectiveness of Google search engine

Credits:

Background picture of header is mine.

newslink.asiaone.com/user/UserESearch.action

newslink.asiaone.com/user/OrderArticleRequest.action?order=&month=01&year=2016&date=09&docLanguage=en&documentld=nica_ST_2016_37132797

www.lexisnexis.com.ezproxy.tp.edu.sg/hottopics/Inacademic/

www.lexisnexis.com.ezproxy.tp.edu.sg/hottopics/Inacademic/    Selected article: POD transport a fare alternative

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.tp.edu.sg/results/A7EF029082BB4530PQ/1/$7b$22limiters$22:$5b$5d,$22mqlversion$22:$221.2$22,$22additionalnavs$22:$5b$5d,$22v$22:$221$22,$22sort$22:$22relevance$22,$22param$22:$7b$22NAVIGATORS$22:$22facetlist,sourcetype,decade$28filter$3d110$2f0$2f*,sort$3dname$2fascending$29,year$28filter$3d1100$2f0$2f*,sort$3dname$2fascending$29,yearmonth$28filter$3d120$2f0$2f*,sort$3dname$2fascending$29,month$28sort$3dname$2fascending$29,day$28sort$3dname$2fascending$29,pubTitle,objectype,language$22,$22flags$22:$22FT$22,$22LEMMATIZE$22:$22true$22,$22collapseDuplicates$22:$22$22,$22collection$22:$22MSTAR,Patents$22,$22qtf_synonym:use_dictionaries$22:$22short_spellvars.aut$22,$22RESUBMITFLAGS$22:$227984$22,$22ftblock$22:$22740842+1+176110+110+670831+670829+660845+660843+660840+176001+176000$22,$22removeDuplicates$22:$22true$22,$22ENCODING$22:$22utf-8$22,$22NAVIGATION$22:$22true$22,$22RS$22:$22OP$22,$22qtf_synonym:querysynonyms$22:$22true$22,$22SPELL$22:$22suggest$22,$22bundles$22:$221005683+1000271+1000283$22,$22chunkSize$22:$2220$22,$22DUPREM_SLOT1$22:$22bsumdupid$22,$22QT_PIPELINE$22:$22scopesearch$22,$22instance$22:$22prod.academic$22$7d,$22serializer$22:$22std1.5$22,$22searchterms$22:$5b$7b$22name$22:$22$22,$22qry$22:$22urban+transport+pod$22,$22fld$22:$22citationBody$22,$22top$22:$22AND$22$7d$5d,$22navs$22:$5b$5d,$22meta$22:$7b$22UsageSearchMode$22:$22Basic$22,$22dbselections$22:$22allAvailable$22,$22SEARCH_ID_TIMESTAMP$22:$221458965214168$22$7d,$22querytype$22:$22basic:OS$22$7d?accountid=47385

search.proquest.com.ezpoxy.tp.edu.sg/docview/1460174044/2054122F96A44ADPQ/11?accounted=47385

The library database is an electronic (online) catalogue or index. Library databases contain information about published items. Library databases are searchable. The library subscribes to many databases hence having access to these resources. When you're searching a database, you are not searching "the web”. Today, I will be evaluating on the effectiveness of the Temasek Polytechnic Library database using the comparison of the Temasek Polytechnic Library database and Yahoo Search engine.

The following steps were taken to do the comparison of the Temasek Polytechnic Library database and Yahoo Search Engine.

1)      The following search options are used that are under Temasek Polytechnic Library Database:

-          LexisNexis Academic

-          ProQuest Business, Science, & Sociology

-          Newslink

2)      The following search options are used that are under Yahoo search engine:

-          News

3)      The search keyword for all the search options would be ‘Urban Transport Pod’

4)      A screenshot of the search results shown in the pictures above.

5)      Among the search results, the number of relevant results are recorded.

6)      A screenshot of the most relevant search result from each search option is given. According to the following criteria:

- Keywords to appear in the results

- the year of article posted from 2014 to 2016

This is because technology is always improving. So relevant of articles must be the latest. Hence, the newer the article, the more relevant it is. 

7)      Comparison of relevant results

8)      Conclusion of effectiveness of Temasek Polytechnic Library Database

Credits:

Background picture of header is mine.

newslink.asiaone.com/user/UserESearch.action

newslink.asiaone.com/user/OrderArticleRequest.action?order=&month=01&year=2016&date=09&docLanguage=en&documentld=nica_ST_2016_37132797

www.lexisnexis.com.ezproxy.tp.edu.sg/hottopics/Inacademic/

www.lexisnexis.com.ezproxy.tp.edu.sg/hottopics/Inacademic/    Selected article: POD transport a fare alternative

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.tp.edu.sg/results/A7EF029082BB4530PQ/1/$7b$22limiters$22:$5b$5d,$22mqlversion$22:$221.2$22,$22additionalnavs$22:$5b$5d,$22v$22:$221$22,$22sort$22:$22relevance$22,$22param$22:$7b$22NAVIGATORS$22:$22facetlist,sourcetype,decade$28filter$3d110$2f0$2f*,sort$3dname$2fascending$29,year$28filter$3d1100$2f0$2f*,sort$3dname$2fascending$29,yearmonth$28filter$3d120$2f0$2f*,sort$3dname$2fascending$29,month$28sort$3dname$2fascending$29,day$28sort$3dname$2fascending$29,pubTitle,objectype,language$22,$22flags$22:$22FT$22,$22LEMMATIZE$22:$22true$22,$22collapseDuplicates$22:$22$22,$22collection$22:$22MSTAR,Patents$22,$22qtf_synonym:use_dictionaries$22:$22short_spellvars.aut$22,$22RESUBMITFLAGS$22:$227984$22,$22ftblock$22:$22740842+1+176110+110+670831+670829+660845+660843+660840+176001+176000$22,$22removeDuplicates$22:$22true$22,$22ENCODING$22:$22utf-8$22,$22NAVIGATION$22:$22true$22,$22RS$22:$22OP$22,$22qtf_synonym:querysynonyms$22:$22true$22,$22SPELL$22:$22suggest$22,$22bundles$22:$221005683+1000271+1000283$22,$22chunkSize$22:$2220$22,$22DUPREM_SLOT1$22:$22bsumdupid$22,$22QT_PIPELINE$22:$22scopesearch$22,$22instance$22:$22prod.academic$22$7d,$22serializer$22:$22std1.5$22,$22searchterms$22:$5b$7b$22name$22:$22$22,$22qry$22:$22urban+transport+pod$22,$22fld$22:$22citationBody$22,$22top$22:$22AND$22$7d$5d,$22navs$22:$5b$5d,$22meta$22:$7b$22UsageSearchMode$22:$22Basic$22,$22dbselections$22:$22allAvailable$22,$22SEARCH_ID_TIMESTAMP$22:$221458965214168$22$7d,$22querytype$22:$22basic:OS$22$7d?accountid=47385

search.proquest.com.ezpoxy.tp.edu.sg/docview/1460174044/2054122F96A44ADPQ/11?accounted=47385

https://sg.news.search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AwrBTzF3EfZWl5UAlFwj4gt.;_ylu=X3oDMTE0YjZqcHNqBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDUzAzMjZfMQRzZWMDcGl2cw--?p=urban+transport+pod&fr=yfp-t-712&fr2=piv-web

Both search engines are adjustable according to the research query. Since my topic is related to modern advanced technology, it is imperative to limit the search of publication dates to be within the current years. i.e. 2013-16.

As seen above, Google allows the user to narrow the search by customisation of the date.

This page shows the ACM Digital Library search page.On the left side of the page, the users can control the publication years of the sources according to their preferences.

Google is able to provide a collective amount of images in one place for my topic of research. By following the copyright rules, I am able to choose to use the suitable pictures based on my needs. However, It is difficult to find a collective source of picture illustrations for my research topic using the ACM Digital Library as it can only provide with the information in the form of text in the articles and papers.

For the available sources in PDF forms, Google does not display how many times it has been downloaded. However, ACM Digital Library is able to provide with the number of downloads for individual items and this helps me to decide whether the article is found as useful by how many other people as well. Hence, it helps me in decision making process as to whether I agree with the other users that it is useful or not useful within a short period of time.

In this post, I will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Google search engine and the ACM Digital Library from the Temasek Polytechnic Databases.

Google sometimes direct the users to non-credible sources such as Wikipedia where anyone is able to edit the text and this makes the content lack credibility. This reduces the credibility of the sources and the user ends up wasting time when there is a limited duration given for the research only. ACM Digital Library, however, is able to provide the name of the author when I searched for my topic and the publication history of them. This helps me decide whether the source is reliable and whether it is a useful source of information for my topic of research.

Whenever someone is unsure of something, the usual response in the past would be, “Why don’t you check it up in the library.” But now, the answer would be “Use Google, it is your best friend.” So what is Google? Google is an American multinational technology company that specialising internet-related services and products. In this blog, an evaluation on Google will be done to see if Google is as effective as the majority believes.

The test will be conducted as followed:

Firstly, the search keyword, Urban Transport Pod, is constant.

Secondly, a reference to the Yahoo Search would be used to prove the effectiveness of the Google Search engine.

The following search options available on Google are used:

(1)    Google Images

(2)    Google News

(3)    Google Video

In comparison, the following search options available on Yahoo are used:

(1)    Yahoo Image

(2)    Yahoo News

(3)    Yahoo Video

Firstly, head on to www.google.com and from there you will enter to Google homepage. At the top right hand corner, other search options are available. The first search option used would be Google Images. Click onto the search option. Type in the search keyword “Urban Transport Technology”. These steps are repeated for search options used for Google and Yahoo. A table is formed, as shown in the pictures provided with relevant example of a relevant search for each option used is provided.

From the table tabulated, it can be inferred that Google is a more effective search engine as compared to Yahoo. Firstly, the search options in Google more convenient as compared to Yahoo. Secondly, Google has more number of relevant search results than Yahoo. Thirdly, Google fulfils all search requirements but Yahoo does not (example would be the Yahoo Video search).

In conclusion, Google is an effective search engine as it has the ability to fulfil all requirements set, the search options are more convenient and it has more search engine options as compared to Yahoo. Therefore it is an effective search engine.

Credits:

Background picture of header is mine.

http://inhabitat.com/100-self-driving-ultra-personal-electric-transportation-pods-to-be-installed-near-london/

http://goa-freaks.com/psy-culture/future-transportation-technology-will-blow-your-mind

http://www.independent.co.uk/author/james-vincent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzRpGVckk6E

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2016-03/14/budget-support-driverless-car-trials-uk-motorways-2017