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Science Journalism
for Dummies
To the "Deep Web" and Beyond
(October 8, 2004) -
Google’s giant search engine only covers 0.03% of all the
information on the Internet. How do you find your way around without
going crazy and, above all, wasting valuable time? At the yesterday’s
Beyond Google session, Jim Henderson, a librarian with
the Health Sciences Faculty at McGill University in Montreal and
Julian Sher, a freelance journalist and creator of JournalismNet,
a reference site for reporters, gave their best tips for using
the Web efficiently. First of all, some free advice for investigative
journalism.
Searching the Web for news
Aside from TV network or newspaper sites, there
are other places to dig up news. Yet where to look for it isn’t
always obvious. Henderson suggests visiting media distributor
sites, which carry multiple sources rather than a single publication.
Another tip: before being published by scientists, research in
progress gets funding from various sources. By visiting sites
that publish research grants, you can get a scoop on a project
just getting off the ground. Finally, if you like the content
of a page, the "Similar pages" function will take you
to others with comparable material.
Finding people and companies
In the field of science journalism, you often have
to turn to experts. And since all Web pages are created by individuals,
how do you find the exact person you want? Unfortunately, some
people who claim to be experts aren’t always. There are sites
where you can determine the identity of a Web page’s owner.
You can also find out how to get information and lurk in newsgroups
without being noticed. By clicking on a newsgroup user’s
name, you can access all the messages they posted in various groups
and use that to judge their credibility.
Refined searches
You don’t necessarily have to pay for access
to privileged information. There are now free sites known as "Open
Directories". Sher provided tips for using advanced search-engine
functions. Looking for a presentation given at Harvard in 1999?
Use Google’s "Domain only" function by entering
www.harvard.edu and select "PowerPoint" as file format.
Need to find a U.S. Army picture? Change the domain to ".mil"
and you get military sites only. There are numerous efficient
yet little-know search functions to help you find that kind of
material.
You can find all these tips online at:
www.journalismnet.com
www.health.library.mcgill.ca
Stéphanie Lalut
and Delphine Naum
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