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From: [email protected] (David Novak)
Newsgroups: alt.internet.research,sci.research,alt.answers,sci.answers,news.answers
Subject: Information Research FAQ v.4.1 (Part 8/9)
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Summary: Information Research FAQ: Resources, Tools & Training
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Copyright: (c) 2000 David Novak
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Information Research FAQ (Part 8/9)

This section of the FAQ originates as webpages for The Spire Project - a
large project to help you find information. If you do much research,
consider selecting one of the html formats with its forms and links.

Please forward leads and comments to David ([email protected]) and note
the disclaimer statement on Part 1 of this FAQ.

Enjoy,
David Novak - [email protected]
The Spire Project: SpireProject.com, SpireProject.co.uk and Cn.net.au

Contents

----- Part 8 -----

26. Software & IT Research
27. Researching Research
28. Research as a Discipline
30. Research Tools & Software
___________________________________________________

26. Software and IT Research
from The Spire Project
http://spireproject.com/computer.html

These research tools only pertain to the field of computer studies.
Other, more general sources like article or book searches may be useful,
but this article is specific to software and IT.

[1]

Internet

Software Archives

[1] One of the fixtures of computer studies are the large archives of
computer software. In some cases, like CPAN[1] and Perl programming,
these archives are integral to distributing advances in programming.

[2] SimTel Software Archives archives Windows, Dos, and other software.
Here is the primary site[7] and a list of mirror sites further down the
same page.

[3] Winsite is a large archive for windows software. See their Winsite
mirror list[4], but don't overlook their search function[5] on the
winsite website.

[6] Tucows[6], is a small but precise archive of Internet software.

ShareWare Lists and Search Engines

[7] If you need a more detailed search for software, start with the
Virtual Software Library (VSL), available through shareware.com, with
its power search option[7].

[8] The ASP also has the definitive listing of shareware archives and
sites (with a short description).

[9] An alternative source of competitive information would be the
Association of Shareware Professionals[10] (ASP), is strong in
organizing and reporting on Shareware. There is a directory of shareware
delivered through the Simtel archive (mirrored everywhere[2], but here
in the US[9]) Look in the directory msdos/info and look for:
asp804.zip [Oct 30 20:00] 382k and the updates any update files:
aspdat71.zip [Jan 30 13:32] 61k. If you can find an updated
version of this directory, please inform us.

RFC and FYI Archive

The "Request for Comment" (RFC) and "For Your Information" (FYI)
documents have a central role in the development of new standards in the
computing field.

[11] This archive by Ohio State University, Computer & Information
Science site, has a fine arrangement of the RFC and FYI[11] documents.

Archie

Archie is one of the oldest search engines constructed. Essentially it
is a database of ftp addresses to files found in ftp archives. As unix
allows for long file names, you may locate information about a topic
without necessarily knowing a specific file name. Ask Archie for a list
of sites with files (or directories) matching your search word. A few
words of advice: keep the words small, think of alternative spelling,
and try to have the name of an existing program first.

[12][13] You can use this form[12] from the University of Western
Sydney. Also consider emailing your request to
[email protected]

Archie records are also slightly different depending on which archie
service you visit. Consider visiting this archive server[14] at the
University College Cork.

This WWPing Form Page[15] holds a script for dns or http pings

Commercial

Commercial Databases

[59] Newsbytes[59] is a newswire solely on computer topics, computer,
telecom and online world. Their websites includes a trial search[16]
engine and a description[17].

Computer Select - commercial database of text from computer magazines.

Computer Database Plus, by Ziff-Davis is another large computer
database.

MicroComputer Abstracts, by Learned Information, includes abstracts from
75+ computer publications. Further descriptions are available from
FirstSearch[18] and Dialog[19].

There are a small collection of full text databases available too.
Consider CMP Computer Fulltext, by CMP Media, for about 2 dozen
periodicals (see further descriptions by Dialog[20]), or Computer News
Fulltext (further description on Dialog[21]).

Information Access Company produces the IAC Computer Database, a mixed
fulltext & abstract database to 75+ periodicals. Further description can
be found on Dialog[22] or Datastar[23].

Further commercial databases focus on software programs, including
MicroComputer Software Guide Online (further description on Dialog[24])
and Softbase (further description by Dialog[25] or Datastar[26]).

Conclusion

For the longest time, the computer industry has led the way in effective
use of the Internet. It is perhaps the one true way to predict the
changes the Internet will have on the rest of our society. Many of these
online resources are more current, authoritative and useful than
alternative formats.

Also consider, Computer newsgroups, Guidebooks, Link to FAQ archive,
Computer Books, and CD-rom directories like "CD-roms in print".

This article comes from The Spire Project.
Advice welcome : email [email protected]
[1] http://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/CPAN
[2] http://www.simtel.net/simtel.net/mirrors.html
[3] http://www.winsite.com
[4] http://www.winsite.com/about/mirrors.html
[5] http://www.winsite.com/search
[6] http://www.tucows.com
[7] http://shareware.com/code/engine/Power
[8] http://www.asp-shareware.org/searchsites.asp
[9] ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/info
[10] http://www.asp-shareware.org
[11] http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/information/rfc.html
[12] http://www.macarthur.uws.edu.au/archie.html
[13] mailto:[email protected]
[14] http://www.ucc.ie/cgi-bin/archie
[15] http://academy-www.bu.edu/net/97/bardfield/ping
[16] http://www.newsbytes.com/search.html
[17] http://www.newsbytes.com/about/index.html
[18] http://www.oclc.org/oclc/man/6928fsdb/microcompabs.htm
[19] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0233.html#AB
[20] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0647.html#AB
[21] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0674.html#AB
[22] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0275.html#AB
[23] http://ds.datastarweb.com/ds/products/datastar/sheets/cmpt.htm
[24] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0278.html#AB
[25] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0256.html#AB
[26] http://ds.datastarweb.com/ds/products/datastar/sheets/soft.htm
___________________________________________________

27. Researching Research
from The Spire Project
http://spireproject.com/research.html

Finding the research of others can be difficult. Publicizing research
work is not a primary focus of most researchers. Consequently searching
for evidence is difficult, and may include searching for patents,
newspaper clips, article, theses and other sources which may describe
research.

A collection of specialty government research databases have arisen to
create a uniform portal to certain research information. Some are free
online. There are also directories to research centers to consider.

[1]

Internet

Governmental Research Databases

[10] CRIS, (Current Research Information System) is produced by the US
Dept of Agriculture (USDA) and includes Canadian, USDA, and Czech
agriculture, food and forestry research. Projects sponsored by these or
affiliated agencies are included. Further descriptions can be found from
Dialog[11] and from the USDA website[10]. Access is free on the net[10].

[32] The United States Department of Energy (DOE) publishes The DOE
Information Bridge[32], a database with full-text and bibliographic
records ofDOE-sponsored research and development. Covers research
projects in energy sciences and technology. Further description can be
found on their website[33].

[1] Cordis is a free online database of European Research Developments
by the EC.

[2] Australia's CSIRO Research Programs and Project[2] on the web.

[3] The Community of Science Inc. (www.cos.org[4]) maintains the Funded
Research Database. This is a free online database of US government
funded research. Work by the Small Business, Medical, Science,
Agriculture and more are bundled here. Start here[3]. Keep in mind COS
is not the source of this information, but does present it online as a
free searchable database.

If you want to search the free patent databases, see our Patent
Research[10] article.

Library

Research Centers

Instead of directly seeking evidence of specific research projects, an
alternative is to seek a research center with an established reputation
in researching a particular field.

The Research Centers and Services Directory is a directory of 26,000+
Research Centres Internationally. Unfortunately, this directory is a
self-assessment of research capability and not specific current research
descriptions. Further descriptions courtesy of Dialog[5].

Large libraries may subscribe, so search for the specific titles:
Research Centers Directory, Research Services Directory, Government
Research Directory (all US & Canada) and the International Research
Centers Directory (world but not US & Canada).

An alternative is the Longman Research Centers directory. Further
description courtesy of EINS[6].

Universities are frequent sites for research centers and while all
universities publish some information on the Internet, the real
information is presented in their annual report. (Archives of state
annual reports are available at state libraries.)

Commercial

Commercial Resources

Many of the more important Commercial Databases are directly related to
the Library Resources

National Technical Information Service (NTIS). Further descriptions can
be found from EINS[7], OVID FieldGuide[8], Dialog[9], Datastar[10],
SilverPlatter[11].

Commercial Databases

JICST is the Japanese technical and science. Further description from
Dialog[12] and Datastar[13]. In Canada, there is the Canadian Research
Index courtesy of SilverPlatter[14]. Additional national research
databases do exist for other countries including Italy and Germany, but
you will need the assistance of the Gale Directory of Databases
(description[15]) for further directions. A varied collection of
Australian databases follows:

Australian Rural Research in Progress, a Commercial Database by CSIRO,
Australia.

CSIRO Index, 70,000+ citations to publications from CSIRO-sponsored
projects - bibliographic and a long standing database. Available on
Ozline.

The Australian Energy Research in Progress(1986 - 92) is a database
directory and fulltext description of R&D in energy and demo projects.
1986 to 1992 on Ozline.

The Australian Education Index (1978+), cites with some abstracts,
Australian work in education.

Conclusion

Once through these resources, you need to again consider the patent
search, the news search, and the article search. These searches may
often be easier and will illuminate research not found in the above
resources. Try the very-large news databases in particular for their
very wide coverage, and search the free patent databases if only because
they are quick and free.

This article comes from The Spire Project.
Advice welcome : email [email protected]
[1] http://www.cordis.lu
[2] http://www.csiro.au/csiro/csirores.htm
[3] http://fundedresearch.cos.com
[4] http://www.cos.org
[5] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0115.html#AB
[6] http://www.eins.org/databases/102.html
[7] http://www.eins.org/databases/6.html
[8]
http://www.ovid.com/documentation/user/field_guide/disp_fldguide.cfm?db
=ntisdb.htm
[9] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0006.html
[10] http://ds.datastarweb.com/ds/products/datastar/sheets/ntis.htm
[11] http://www.silverplatter.com/catalog/ntis.htm
[12] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0094.html#AB
[13] http://ds.datastarweb.com/ds/products/datastar/sheets/jist.htm
[14] http://www.silverplatter.com/catalog/crin.htm
[15] http://spireproject.com/database.htm#2
___________________________________________________

28. Research as a Discipline
from The Spire Project
http://spireproject.com/disciple.html

As we consolidate information for effective research, we venture here to
sources primarily for information brokers. As a profession, researchers
have diverse skills and needs, but constantly working with information,
in a competitive market, professional information seekers are often
starved for high quality information about new research techniques,
skills and sources. This article covers resources too technical or
time-intensive for occasional researchers.

[1]

Internet

Special Interest Groups

Researchers are particularly in need of contact with other researchers.
Associations and discussion groups are important for this.

[1] The next best is Buslib-l (business librarians list), which has a
bit too much traffic for most of us. See also the small developing
Buslib archive: Best of Buslib-l[1] and searching instructions[2] (not
downloadable in bulk).

[8] The Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP[8]),
and associations like the Society of Competitive Intelligence
Professionals (SCIP[78]) also bring members together.

Events and Functions

Considerable contact and exchange of information occurs at the
conferences. Certainly this is a fine time to see the commercial
organizations display their wares.

The Journal, Online & CDROM Review has a very good directory of up and
coming events for this industry.

Library

Research Education

The Intelligence Cycle[3], courtesy of the CIA library. This is a
single-page summary of the research process.

The Information Broker's Handbook by Sue Rugge and Alfred Glossbrenner,
McGraw-Hill. Third Edition (1997) This is a must-read for those
interested in the business side of information research.

Secrets of the Super Searchers by Reva Basch. Unfortunately a 1993 book,
but unique as a look into the field of information brokers. Published by
Eight Bit Books. (dewey 025.524 BAS)

[4] Online is a good bi-monthly magazine for information brokers. (dewey
025.04). Their website[4] includes samples.

[5] There are other interesting periodicals. This page[5] has a list and
description of periodicals by Information Today Inc. including
Information Today, Information World Review[6], and Searcher. The
contents pages[7] for Information Today, a monthly, newsy, review of the
information industry, are online. Information World Report is another
impressive publication, but no longer has a website.

[8] BUBL[9] keeps a good collection of Library and Information Science
Periodicals, though most of them are not linked to online periodicals,
but rather to contents pages or abstracts.

Library Sciences

When you are searching on the Internet, the words Library Science,
Information Research and Information Brokers are useful. Recently there
have been a number of emerging websites, though still poor when compared
to industry trade journals.

[10][11] LIBRES[10]: Library and Information Science Research Electronic
Journal is a bi-annual scholarly journal. Information Research[11] is a
little more frequent.

[12] The Universities at Albany Libraries have a really good
"Information and Library Science[12]" webpage.

[13][14] There are three reports you may find interesting: Preserving
Digital Information[13]: Report of the Task force on Archiving of
Digital Information, Librarians and Publishers in the Scholarly
Information Process[14]: Transformation in the Electronic Age, and the
far more recent The Emerging Digital Economy [15]by the US Department of
Commerce.

[16] A long list of similar reports can be found listed in Digital
Libraries: Resources and Projects[16] by the International Federation of
Library Associationsand Institutions (IFLA).

Commercial

Commercial Databases

LISA, the Library and Information Science Abstracts, is a useful
commercial database to Library sources. For a description, see
Dialog[17], SilverPlatter[18]. Library and Research topics are also
covered by other databases like Information Science Abstracts (for a
description, see SilverPlatter[19] or Dialog[20]), or Library Literature
(see Dialog[21], SilverPlatter[22] or FirstSearch[23].

Research Directories

[24] This site keeps a fine World List of Departments and Schools of
Information Studies.

The Spire Project has an average list to firms in the Information
Industry. See the Information Industry Directory[75].

[25] 1995/96 Burwell World Directory of Information Brokers, provides
contact details and descriptions to 1700+ organizations worldwide.
Edited by Helen P. Burwell and Carolyn N. Hill and available for about
US$100. See their promotional webpage[25].

There are also large directories like the Information Industry Directory
(Gale Research) which attempt to list every information business in the
world. These directories are useful if you have a name, but difficult if
you are looking for products.

[35][36] ECHO has a database called I'M Guide which is really a
directory of the European Information Industry. Yes, this is a telnet
session, and can be painfully slow. Connect, type 'ECHO' as the password
at the first prompt, then 1 for English, the 2 for the I'M GUIDE
(database).

Search with their Common Command Language (CCL). Start with 'Find ' then
'Show' to retrieve your results. For more, read the pdf manual on
CCL[38].

Strategy

Professional research demands a more effective, timely use of resources
at hand. It is challenging, and it is an occupation.

Unlike research for yourself, professional researchers often know little
about the topic we are asked to investigate. We may not know the phrases
which accurately describe a specific concept, we sometimes don't
recognize gold if its labeled copper, but we have to do everything fast
- lest the cost escalate above the expectation of the client.

Client. Yes, professional research starts with the client.

Professional research involves far less book and library work, and far
more interviewing, database access and online article purchasing. When
money is involved, time becomes very precious. The first luxury lost:
the luxury to get to know the topic in leisurely detail.

Instead, professional research starts with a careful description of
exactly what information is desired (and why). You must quickly build a
good plan about who you will ask and where you will look. This is, after
all, your primary skill others have great difficulty in duplicating -
traversing the information sphere swiftly and skillfully.

Many researchers today can search databases. Most researchers are
familiar with library work. Personal research has the added benefit of
being part of the learning process. So why reach for a professional?

The first unique skill we must refine is our knowledge of the research
tools. Computer databases may be easily accessible, but are not easy to
search. Interviewing is conceptually simple, but is not simple in
practice. Each aspect of research can and must be refined.

The second unique skill: interpretation. Working with information
frequently allows us to better judge the reliability and bias of the
information we retrieve.

Most information you find will be tainted. Secondary expertise almost
always present information in a biased way. You will counter this bias
both by being aware of the bias and by interviewing someone with a
different view. An inventor proclaims a devise in near completion - do
we believe? Obviously it requires further study. This is often lost on
amateur researchers - by collecting information from a variety of
different resources, with a range of bias, we can create a superior
assessment of the value of each item of information. Research based
solely on government research, no matter how well done, is
unprofessional.

The third unique skill is speed. We must be able to provide research as
a service, as a business, quickly. This goes beyond research to the
banal work of copyright and legal protection, selecting effective
research tools, finding fast expertise to supplement your own.

The skills of professional research are like the artist. They take a
lifetime to learn. The work is just business.

Conclusion

Library work and the Internet should mix well. Like the computer field,
there is opportunity and need for online communities and systems to
exchange information. Two notable examples of this would be Buslib-l and
InfoPro. Both mailing lists field numerous notices and calls for
assistance. Expect this field to flourish as Libraries migrate further
to the Internet.

This article comes from The Spire Project.
Advice welcome : email [email protected]
[1] http://www.montague.com/review/buslibbest.html
[2] http://www.montague.com/review/howto.html
[3] http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/facttell/intcycle.htm
[4] http://www.onlineinc.com/onlinemag
[5] http://www.infotoday.com/catalog/period.htm
[6] http://www.iwr.co.uk
[7] http://www.infotoday.com/it/itnew.htm
[8] http://bubl.ac.uk/journals/lis
[9] http://bubl.ac.uk
[10] http://aztec.lib.utk.edu/libres
[11] http://www.shef.ac.uk/~is/publications/infres/ircont.html
[12] http://www.albany.edu/library/virtual/subject/infosci.htm
[13] http://www.rlg.org/ArchTF
[14] http://arl.cni.org/clr/Frontmatter.html
[15] http://www.ecommerce.gov/emerging.htm
[16] http://www.ifla.org/II/diglib.htm
[17] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0061.html
[18] http://www.silverplatter.com/catalog/lisa.htm
[19] http://www.silverplatter.com/catalog/isab.htm
[20] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0202.html
[21] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0438.html
[22] http://www.silverplatter.com/catalog/will.htm
[23] http://www.oclc.org/oclc/man/6928fsdb/librarylit.htm
[24] http://www.shef.ac.uk/~is/publications/worldlist/wlist1.html
[25] http://www.infotoday.com/catalog/direct.htm
___________________________________________________

30. Research Tools and Software
from The Spire Project
http://spireproject.com/tools.html

Research can be expedited if you have the right tools. Our tool list
includes a script to present webpages with footnoted links, a
multi-document search program, free offline & online dictionaries and
thesaurus, citation guides for electronic sources, the freeware .zip
program, and services which alert you to changes in webpages.

[1]

Footnote.pl

This footnote perl script retrieves a file off the Internet, then
re-displays links as footnotes on the bottom of the page. You may use
footnote to print webpages in a way to retain the linking information.
(More Information[1].)

Please organize webpage
http://
as text with footnotes,
as html with footnotes.
I have not, as yet, perfected the printing of non-ascii text elements
(when requested as a text document), and have only estimated the
arrangement of centered text in the text format.

WinGrep - Search Multiple Documents

[2] WinGrep is a very simple and effective windows shareware program. It
assists you to search a range of documents for the occurrence of certain
text. This works really well for searching a directory of past documents
kept in a directory. Works like a brute force archive.

Opera - the superior web browser

[2] Just because Netscape and Microsoft want to give you a web-browser
does not make them particularly research friendly. Opera is a better
web-browser: leaner, faster, better organized. For example, we can turn
on and off pictures easily. It also crashes less and handles multiple
windows better. Released as Trialware, download Opera from your nearest
Tucows Internet software archive or from operasoftware.com[3].

Freeware Thesaurus/Dictionary

[4] wordweb.zip, freeware[4], is a 4 Mbyte Thesaurus and Dictionary
File. I have not used it, but Matthew indicates it certainly has a few
features (antonyms, holonyms, hypernyms, hyponyms, and synonyms, along
with a dictionary).

[5][6][7] Alternatively, thanks to the ARTFL Project, we have Roget's
Thesaurus[5], Webster's Revised[6] Unabridged Dictionary, and the
Websters 1913 Edition as a file[7] from the Gutenburg project.

[8] Lastly, Robert Beard from Bucknell University, has a definitive site
for dictionaries[8] in many languages.

Citation Guides

[9] REFERENCING GUIDE[9], thank to the Office of Research & Development
- Edith Cowan Uni. Australia.

[10] Electronic Sources: APA Style of Citation[10] thanks to the
University of Vermont.

[11] MLA-Style Citations of Electronic Sources[11] thanks to the
University of South Florida

For further citation guides, see this site[12] thanks to the University
of Memphis, or this site[13] by Nancy Crane & Li Xiu.

Zip - Freeware zip software

[14] Zip and UnZip[14] are freeware - very handy. Zip archiving comes
from many programs, but I did not expect a freeware solution. Also
available via ftp[15], and mirrored elsewhere[16].

Url_Minder

[17] The Url_Minder is a free service to inform you of changes to a
website, but at the cost of occasional email advertising. Read more[17]
about this service.

This article comes from The Spire Project.
Advice welcome : email [email protected]
[1] http://spireproject.com/tools.html#
[2] http://www.mindspring.com/~bgrigsby/wingrep.html
[3] http://operasoftware.com
[4] http://www.netword.demon.co.uk/wweb/index.html
[5] http://humanities.uchicago.edu/forms_unrest/ROGET.html
[6] http://humanities.uchicago.edu/forms_unrest/webster.form.html
[7]
http://www-cgi.cs.cmu.edu/cgi-bin/book/search?title=webster%27s+diction
ary&tmode=words
[8] http://www.bucknell.edu/~rbeard/diction.html
[9] http://www.cowan.edu.au/ecuwis/docs/admin/refguide/refguide.html
[10] http://www.uvm.edu/~xli/reference/apa.html
[11] http://www.cas.usf.edu/english/walker/mla.html
[12] http://www.lib.memphis.edu/gpo/citeweb.htm
[13] http://www.uvm.edu/~ncrane/estyles
[14] http://www.cdrom.com/pub/infozip
[15] ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/infozip
[16] http://quest.jpl.nasa.gov/Info-ZIP
[17] http://minder.netmind.com
___________________________________________________
This document continues as Part 9/9.
__________________________________________________
Copyright (c) 1999 by David Novak, all rights reserved.
This FAQ may be posted to any USENET newsgroup, on-line service,
website, or BBS as long as it is posted unaltered in its entirety
including this copyright statement. This FAQ may not be included in
commercial collections or compilations without express permission from
the author. Further permission requests please to [email protected]
-----------------------------------
David Novak - [email protected]