Directions: Pick 1-2 topics you are interested in and do web searches (try alternative search terms and search engines). Do another round of searches using Google Scholar. How do the results getting you thinking differently about each topic. Which one do you think you are most interested in, why?
For this assignment, I decided to stray a little from my scholarly work, so I picked the Grammy Awards and the Academy Awards as my topics of interest. For alternative search terms, I used Grammys, music awards, and National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in the place of “Grammy Awards”; I used Oscars, film awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the place of “Academy Awards.” Search engines other than Google included Yahoo! and Ask.com.
Search Engines
Grammy Awards
The Google search for Grammy Awards showcased links about the awards as a whole and recent news bits related to the upcoming ceremony; the Yahoo! and Ask.com search showcased similar links, though the layouts were less appealing and helpful. (I should note that Ask.com also provides a “Popular Q&A” on the right side of the screen that answers questions researchers might have about the topic they’re researching.) The searches for Grammys included similar results. The searches for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences proved to be a little more interesting: the Google and Yahoo! searches provided links about the organization and the Grammy Awards; Ask.com first provided ads that were “related to” my search that, in fact, had nothing to do with either NARAS or the Grammy Awards. In all cases, the links displayed as results of my searches were empirical data – time of the ceremony, the nominees, etc. When turning to Google Scholar, the links focused more on how the Grammy Awards function, cultural influence, and the like.
Academy Awards
Like the Grammy Awards search, the Google search for Academy Awards showcased links about the awards as a whole and recent news bits related to the upcoming ceremony; the Yahoo! and Ask.com search showcased similar links, though the layouts were less appealing and helpful. The searches for Oscars included similar results. The Google and Yahoo! searches for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences provided links about the organization and the Academy Awards; Ask.com first provided ads that were “related to” my search, the first of which had nothing to do with either AMPAS or the Academy Awards. In all cases, the links displayed as results of my searches were empirical data – time of the ceremony, the nominees, etc. When turning to Google Scholar, the links focused more on how the Academy Awards reflect culture, what kinds of films are recognized, and the like.
Reflecting on My Results
Both topics are similar, so it should be no surprise that the results in both sets of searches heavily resembled each other. The sets of searches with Google, Yahoo!, and Ask.com returned links with general information about both awards (ceremonies and groups). I acquired such links because I set no specific parameters for my search – it was nothing more than my indicating, “Find pages with these words!” But the Google Scholar results were more specific. As its name suggests, this component of the famous search engine directs users to academic works, regardless of nature (empirical or otherwise). The links here hope to answer more specific, challenging questions than “What is [inserts group name]?” or “Who won?”
As someone who keeps up with both awards ceremonies, the results of both sets of searches interest me. However, the specificity of and questions raised by the Google Scholar results interest me far more. Awards groups do not exist in a vacuum; they reflect cultural values. Discovering why events take place is more interesting to me than knowing that they took place.