SearchG3ssF2008

= Search Activity Assignment = Introduction ** Our dynamic duo immediately agreed on web design as our topic. We selected this topic based upon our interest in website design, experience in nonprofit and training. We were committed to scripting a scenario addressing a nonprofit that provides workshops/online training modules for individuals and/or small agencies. Understanding nonprofits have limited resources, we were sensitive to reviewing sources offering easy website designs or templates, identifying nonprofit training needs, and technology needed to meet the goal. We then built a list of general search terms, sketched a scenario, narrowed the search terms in relation to the scenarios, and then began the search activity. A director of a large nonprofit agency, CARES, would like to expand training support services for individuals and other leaders of nonprofit agencies within her community. CARES employs a few staff members, including an experienced grant writer. The most frequent request CARES receives for support services is grant writing training. Being located in a low-wealth community, many nonprofits are seeking resources to fill the needs of families living in poverty. There is no doubt a need exists for more training opportunities. However, due to other responsibilities, the CARES staff cannot commit any more time to training. If online training modules could be developed and hosted on the CARES website, they could potentially serve more individuals throughout the community. They want to research questions such as: Can we identify low cost methods to develop interactive training modules that could be accessed online at anytime? Are their any other nonprofits currently using this type of technology? Selection Process ** **Step 1:** We began by developing a broad list of search terms relating to nonprofits and training. Soon, we realized the general terms were too broad. After a few preliminary searches with several resources, we narrowed the terms that we felt would bring back the most relevant results. Using this list of terms, we focused on identifying where to conduct the search. We decided to focus on online journals, online resources, and online search engines. The online journal search through Joyner Library was a bit more difficult than the team imagined. Although you can search the online journals by title and broad subject categories (Journalism and Communications, Social Sciences), you cannot easily search with key words. For example, when trying to search under the Journalism and Communications category, the team added the keyword ‘website design’ and the search did not come back with any hits. Searching through online resources and search engines produced the opposite result. These searches generated lots of hits, but it was still a challenge to find specific supporting information for the scenario we developed. We searched the general terms listed below and found more information then we could adequately cull through. Search engines researched, but not used, included: http://www.smartlinks.org/, http://search.lycos.com/ , and http://www.digital-librarian.com/. Also, it was difficult to locate resources connecting web design, nonprofit and training. The general terms led to specialized sites, none addressed a combination of our focuses. A discussion led us to narrowing down the general search terms to the terms below to better search our scenario. Online database and search engine sources reviewed are too numerous to indicate especially since so many were researched to find the most applicable resources. With narrowed search terms we were determined to find those niche online sites to meet the needs outlined in our scenario. Using the narrowed topic terms we were able to identify several sources with pertinent information. General Search Terms ** > **Narrowed Search Terms** **Sources** The chart below identifies some of the resources we reviewed to find information relevant to our scenario. (ISSN 0092-1815)   || [|http://www.cpaz.com/Professional+Services/Web+Training+Offerings.htm] || http://scholar.google.com/ || || (ISSN 1360-2357)   || http://mapnp.nonprofitoffice.com/index.asp || http://search.live.com/ || || http://www.ask.com/ || (ISSN 1048-6682)   || http://www.ncnonprofits.org/ ||  [|http://www.google.com]  || (ISSN 1553-3611)  || http://www.techsoup.org/ ||  [|http://www.altavista.com]  || After an extensive search, through multitudes of secondary research, we found a lot of information about nonprofits, training, and web design. However, the one perfect hit eluded us. Searching for secondary research is definitely a recursive process. If this were a real scenario, the team would need to further narrow the search and begin the process again. Marietta Harmon Law & Paula Shambach
 * Fall 2008 SS Group 3 **
 * Topic: Website Design **
 * Scenario**
 * Step 2**: After trying several category and keyword combinations, and receiving the same results, we sought assistance through the online Joyner Chat function. Within minutes, the library technician offered assistance for a new search strategy. By going to the Electronic Databases section of the Joyner website, and choosing the ‘One Search’ function, you have access to more comprehensive search tools. Although you cannot narrow the search to include only online journals, you can include the keyword ‘journal’ to minimize the results. After using several of the targeted key words, in a variety of subject area resource combinations, we identified 12 online journals with pertinent articles based on the scenario. Selecting journals that appeared in more than one search result further narrowed the search down.
 * Website Design
 * Online Training Modules For Nonprofits
 * Web Education
 * Nonprofit Training Needs
 * Navigation Usability
 * Website Usability
 * Nonprofit Technology
 * Using Technology to Enhance Training
 * Use of Graphics in Web Design
 * Interactive websites
 * Webpage templates
 * Internet technologies
 * Website Design
 * Web Education
 * Nonprofit Training Needs
 * Nonprofit Technology
 * Using Technology to Enhance Training
 * **Journals** || **Online Resources**  || **Online Search Engines**  ||
 * International Journal of Instructional Media
 * Communication Education (ISSN 0363-4523)   ||  http://www.enonprofits.org/  ||  [|http://search.yahoo.com]
 * Education and Information Technologies
 * Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly (ISSN 1077-6990)  || http://nonprofitworks.com/training/default.asp
 * Nonprofit Management and Leadership
 * Journal of Website Promotion
 * Conclusion: **
 * Submitted by: **