Library Corner
Understanding Context in a Decontextualized Web Kevin E. Simons (ksimons@gmu.edu), Instruction Coordinator, University Libraries CONTEXT:
What is a citation? When I ask in my classes, students say it tells someone where to find information. But when it comes to data mining for information, this definition is too limiting. For all researchers the citation is the most vital component to accessing information. The citation, or the record in digital speak, is a representation, a surrogate if you will, of the actual item. Consider looking for information in a library without the citation. One would need to open each book separately to see if it has any information pertinent to the need. As ridiculous as this sounds, it is exactly how surface Web search engines look for information. The “citation” in Web search engines like Google is the Web page itself. Generally speaking, the Web is more about displaying information, than for accessing information. Web page creators follow conventions of design within the structure of HTML, but there are no requirements for how this structure is used. The citation, on the other hand, is comprised of specific and required fields (author, title, source, etc.). These fields describe the item with carefully constructed and concise language. How does knowledge of the citation help students? In last Fall’s Writing @ Center I tweaked the definition of Context from the Merriam Webster online dictionary to speak of the interrelated conditions in which information exists. It is by understanding the purpose and structure of the citation and its relationship to the processes used by computers to retrieve results in today’s digital age, that students can begin to utilize even the most basic search principles to find results more efficiently and effectively. When discussing research papers in your classes, expand the definition of a citation to contextualize its importance to finding the best information. |