Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

online research 349sector jobs, and so on. Other important features to look forinclude:• powerful search or filtering capability, such as by typeof job or employer, keywords in job description, orlocality• the ability to put one’s resume online and edit orupdate it as needed.• the ability to have several versions of one’s resumetailored to different types of jobs• automatic e-mail alerts about newly added jobs thatmeet the user’s criteria• privacy protections so that contact information fromresumes is not used for marketing or other nonemploymentpurposes• lack of fees to job seekers (normally employers are theservice’s source of revenue)Job seekers can use job search engines such as CareerBuilder that will search the major job-finding sites and/oremployers’ own sites according to the user’s criteria.In addition to dedicated job-hunting sites and recruitingagencies, a less formal but rapidly growing trend isthe meeting of employers and would-be employees throughsites such as Facebook (see social networking), wherepeople often freely describe their interests. Employers inturn are increasingly searching online for informationabout applicants, which can cause a problem if the resultsinclude “indiscreet” writings or perhaps photos, perhapsdating back to high school. (On the other hand, there arealso social networks such as LinkedIn that specialize inbusiness contacts.)Finally, online job seekers should beware of fake “joboffers” that ask for information such as social security numbers(see online frauds and scams).Further ReadingCareerBuilder. Available online. URL: http://www.careerbuilder.com. Accessed October 21, 2007.Craigslist. Available online. URL: http://www.craigslist.com.Accessed October 21, 2007.Dikel, Margaret Riley, and Frances E. Roehm. Guide to Internet JobSearching 2006–2007 Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006.Job-Hunt: The Guide to Finding Employment Online. Availableonline. URL: http://www.job-hunt.org/job-search.html.Accessed October 21, 2007.Kerber, Ross. “Online Job Hunters Grapple with Misuse of PersonalData.” Boston Globe, October 1, 2007. Available online. URL:http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/10/01/online_job_hunters_grapple_with_misuse_of_personal_data/. Accessed October 21, 2007.Monster.com. Available online. URL: http://www.monster.com.Accessed October 21, 2007.Napoli, Lisa. “New Job-Seeking Tool? It’s the Network.” Marketplace(American Public Media). October 19, 2007. Availableonline. URL: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/10/19/online_job_networking. Accessed October21, 2007.USAJOBS [federal job information]. Available online. URL: http://www.usajobs.gov/. Accessed October 21, 2007.online researchThe proliferation of online databases, information services(see online services) and Web sites has made more informationaccessible to more people than ever before. At thesame time, the complexity of the online world challengesresearchers to develop a new set of skills to cope with it.It is useful to divide online offerings into three broadcategories: specialized databases, online information services,and the Web as a whole (see World Wide Web).Each of these areas requires a somewhat different approachby the online researcher.A common research task is to find and evaluate booksor articles on a given subject. Most local libraries have theircatalogs online, and the world’s largest library catalog, thatof the Library of Congress (LC), is also available in severalforms on the Web.Newspaper and magazine articles can be found in anumber of general-purpose databases such as InfoTrac.These databases can be searched in public libraries: Remoteaccess is generally restricted to the library’s cardholders.These records can consist of a bibliographic descriptiononly (that is, author, title, periodical, issue date, and soon) or can include an abstract or in many cases the fulltext of the article. In addition, most major newspapers nowoffer free access to recent articles on their Web site, witholder articles available for a nominal fee. Magazines, too,frequently offer selected articles or their complete contentsonline.Using the search facility for an online catalog or periodicaldatabase is generally simple, particularly if an author ortitle is known. For subject searching, some familiarity withLC subject headings is helpful. However, the ability of mostsystems to search for matching words in titles or subjectsmeans that the researcher can be quickly led to the correctsubject in most cases.Another way to get tables of contents, jacket copy, andreviews of books is to browse the online catalogs of majorbooksellers, particularly Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.Publishers’ Web sites are another good way to getinformation about books, particularly new or forthcomingtitles.Journalists need a broad familiarity with online researchtools and use computers and online services in many facetsof their work (see journalism and computers). Researcherslooking for specialized articles in fields such as law ormedicine need more rigorous skills.Most legal research is done using databases such asLexisNexis. These databases are expensive but indispensableto practitioners. However, students and others whocan’t afford this access can still find U.S. Supreme Court,Court of Appeals, and many state court decisions online,thanks to the efforts of organizations such as the LegalInformation Institute at Cornell Law School. Because ofthe complexity of multiple jurisdictions and the need totrace chains of precedent (“shepardizing”), online legalresearch has become an increasingly important paraprofessionaltask.Medical research is similarly complex, due to thethousands of precise terms for conditions, procedures,