On this page are the assignments for Thursday of Week Five. 

DEADLINES: You should have your assignments completed by Monday, at 7 p.m.

Newsgroups & Listservs

Newsgroups and listservs have emerged as important tools for Internet research.

They are places where people talk online, exchanging information, sometimes gossip. They are actually not good sources of news or information. But they are wonderful sources for people, stories, anecdotes and trends in particular subject areas.

For example, if you wanted to know about online news, one of the best places to find experts on the topic would be the online news listserv.

You should know how to tap into the power of newsgroups and listservs. You should understand the depth and variety of these "virtual communities."

For now, I would like you to get familiar with how newsgroups and listservs work. Please read this presentation:

5-Listservs

Then I would like you to go to the amazing collection of groups at Google. Go to Google and click on Groups. You will be amazed at the thousands of groups available. Learn how to search for a particular group and learn how to search within many groups.

Then, pick a topic and search for group discussions about the topic. Send me an email discussing what you found. How are newsgroups and listservs useful? Do you belong to any? How can they be useful for research?

You should also begin preparations for your final research project described at the Grading link on our class home page. If you would like, you can clear your topic with me. Remember, an important part of the paper is using as many of your class skills as you can -- compose a good research strategy; draw upon search engines; use subject directories; use public records, specialized tools, online databases and groups and listservs, and finally evaluate your research sources. More information at the Grading page.

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