Using the Web to Build Cultures of Peace

Introductory Observations

• The Web is both a valuable source of information and a supplement to traditional sources.


• (Don't neglect traditional sources -- especially knowledgeable and experienced people.)
• The Web is a two way street allowing us to actively promote peace.
• The Web is becoming more and more interactive allowing for greater interpresonal contact and community building.


• The Internet is more than the Web.
• Email, lists, bulletin boards and blogs are now ancient technologies.
• RSS feeds, chat/instant messaging, wikis, texting, content tagging, user reviews, podcasting, VOIP (Voice Over IP) virtual reality, the increasing portability of laptops and the expanding capabilities of handheld devises including wireless phones (e.g. IPhone) and PDA (e.g. Blackberries), etc. are rapidly increasing the pace and expanding the reach of interpersonal communications.


• American Library Association Law for Librarians Wiki
  American Library Association Intellectual Freedom Rountable Wiki
  University of Notre Dame Hesburgh Libraries Reference Wiki
• Storage size and portability are also continuing to increase (e.g. the $200 terabyte hard drive and the flash or thumb drive).
• Connectivity is being extended to the village level worldwide.
• An example, The Catholic Research Resources Alliance (CRRA) and the Catholic PeaceBuilding Network (CPN)
.

The Web as Source of Information.

• If the Web is an ocean of information, it can then be said to consist of:
  
  
• The "surface" or "visible" Web -- less than 25% of the Web's content.


• It's data is available to everyone through search engines and directories.
• It contains the "stuff" you find by surfing the Web.


• The "deep" or "invisibile" Web -- more than 75% of the Web's content.


• Access to its free data is very limited.
• Access to its free data is usually gained through the search features of specific sites.


• If site sponsors are unknown, these sites are usuaslly found by using directories.
• If site sponsors are known, these sites may be found using a standard search for the sponsor


• It's data is often in commercial sites which require subscriptions or access fees.
• It's data is frequently available in libraries which have prepaid these access fees.
• Licenses usually restrict access to fee databases to members of the library community in question.
• However, licenses usually allow full access to fee databases to on site visitors.

Two approaches to accessing Web content.

• Searching from home or from your office


• You can use search engines and directories to access date in the suface Web.
• You can use search engines and directories to identify databases which contain data in the deep Web.


• Searching in libraries


• You can use subscription databases to access commercial databases from the deep Web.

A few cautions on the use of Web sources.

• Anyone can have a web site and become a self-proclaimed expert.


• This is both a great strength and a great weakness of the Web.
• "Anyone" includes experts and well-informed amateurs as well as the uninformed but opinionated ("yahoos," "dingdong," etc.).
• Consequently you will find both "establishment" and "movement" or "point of view" sites.
• On the positive side the Web has become an excellent way for the voiceless to acquire a voice.
• You need to exercise considerable critical judgement in evaluating every site.


• The Web is like Wal-Mart with a little bit of everything of mixed quality.


• The ratio of high quality sites to low quality sites (AKA junk) is relatively low.


• Libraries are like malls with high quality specialty stores.


• The ratio of high quality sites to low qualtiy sites (AKA junk) is very high.


• Choose sites carefully.

Researching from home or office.

• Search engines are the most obvious means of finding information on the Web.
• There are many search engines available each with its own strengths and weakenesses.
• Currently, four of the more frequently used search engines are:


• Google
  Yahoo
  Ask
  MSN Search


• See SearchEngineAlert "Rating & Stats" for more details.

Using the most popular search engine, Google.

• To make most effective use of Google (and other search engine), become familiar with its features.


• Google assumes a logical "and" operator between search terms.
• To broaden results put synonyms within parentheses separated by "ORs" (in caps).
• There is a currently a limit of ten search terms (including "ORs") in a single search.
• Google supports automatic truncation for plurals and other common word variations.
• Word order and the repetition of search terms effects search results.
• Words surrounded by quotation marks are treated as phrases.
• Google search algorithms (models) are secret.
• Additional features are on the help page but not all features are documented.
• Important undocumented or experimental features are often discovered by hackers.


• Google has many specialized searches including "News."


• Search engines including Google do not do "live" searches.
• Search engines search an index created by "spiders" and "crawlers."
• It takes weeks to index or refresh the whole "surface" Web.
• Google News indexes a much smaller number of selected Web sites.
• It only takes hours to update Google News.
• For current news, search Google News.
• For older and broader coverage, search Google.

Searching "databases" inaccessible to search engines.

• To locate them "Google" the name of the organization.


• Search for the name of the organization by placing the name within quotation marks.
• For example, "Amnestry International", "Human Rights Watch" and the "New York Times."


• If sources are not yet known, use general "directories" and specialized web guides and sites to identify them.


• General directories:


• Google Directory
  Yahoo Directory


• Recommended Specialized guides:


• Libweb, Library Servers via WWW
  Guide to Foreign Government Documents
  Governments on the Web
  International Agencies and Information on the Web
  CRInfo (conflict resolution information source)
  College-Level Teaching Programs (CRInfor)


• Miscellaneous list of additional specialized guides and sites:

SPIRI & ISN
Amnesty International
Johns Hopkins
CSIS Center for Stategic & International Studies
Foreign Affairs Online
Foreign Policy Association
Foreign Relations of the U.S.
Global Policy Forum (UN)
Human and Constitutional Rights
Human Rights
International Crisis Group
U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs
U.S. Department of State, Foreign Media Reaction
The WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources
CIA
European Union
European Parliamemt
Inter-parliamentary Union
Organization of American States


• "Bookmark" relevant sources from searching, directories and guides for future use.
• Once at a homepage, use it's internal search engine or directory to retrieve documents.

Researching in libraries

• No matter how good your research from home or office, most deep Web data will not be accessible.
• Most but not all libraries will allow on site visitors to access their fee databases.
• This includes public libraries and academic libraries (both public and private)
• Access rules and regulations vary from library to library.
• In almost all cases, primary community members will have priority access.
• Usually there is no charge for access.
• Unless you are already familiar with the library, a virtual visit via the Web is a good idea.


• Libweb, Library Servers via WWW


• Here are is a list of resources which you might need -- with selected sample databases.


• For Peace Studies as an academic discipline:


• Peace Research Abstracts Journal -- the only strictly Peace Studies index available.


• For books:


• The local libaries catalog -- usually available free on the Web. Use before arrival.
• WorldCat -- Books, Journals, Videos, etc. in over 3000 libraries.


• For articles in periodicals consult general indexes:


• Academic Search Premier (EBSCO)
  Expanded Academic ASAP (InfoTrac)
  P.A.I.S International
  Web of Science
  
• For articles in specific academic disciplines:


• Anthropology -- Anthropological Literature
  History, Non-U.S. -- Historical Abstracts
  History, U.S. -- America: History and Life
  Economics -- EconLit
  Political Science/International Affairs -- Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  Pyschology -- PsychLIT
  Sociology -- Sociological Abstracts
  Theology / Religion -- ATLA Religion Index


• For newspaper articles:


• Factiva (Dow Jones and Reuters)-- international, English language publications
  Lexis/Nexis Academic -- international, English language publications
  WNC (World News Connection) -- international, non-English language publications translated into English


• For policy briefs, working papers and reports:


• CIAO: Columbia International Affairs Online
• Sample pages at the University of Notre Dame


• ND LIbrary Homepage
  ND Catalog
  KKIC (Kellogg/Kroc Information Center) page
  ND Library Peace Studies subject page
  Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies

Lastly

• if you identify sources while using the Web which are not available on the Web, investigate Interlibrary Loan (ILL).


• ILL can get almost anything you need.
• ILL will need an accurate citation and a little time.
• Some items come more quickly; some take a lot longer.
• ILL is available at most libraries (public and academic).
• ILL is almost always available only to people with regular borrowing privileges.
• Since most public libraries have ILL services, almost everyone will have a library they can use.
• Ask for details at the local Reference or Circulation Desk; some libraries don't advertise the service.
• Be sure to ask about costs. It's often free but not always.

One more thing

• Since the Web is a dynamic, constantly changing environment, almost any and everything contained in this guide could become dated tomorrow.