SEMQDB. Databases for Historians. Autumn 1998.
Exercise 1. Weeks 1 to 3.
The first piece of practical work involves the use of internet and world-wide-web to locate information on a chosen topic. On the computers in the Aston-Webb cluster, you may use netscape and various search tools to track down information. You will find there is a vast amount of irrelevant information and it can be quite tricky to sift through to locate the data that you want. However there are useful web sites and some extremely useful information is hidden out there.
I have suggested a number of topics. You should research one of them and then write a short report, describing your experiences and giving a summary of the information you have found. When you do find a useful site, make detailed notes on how you found it so that you can find again quickly and easily. These notes are for your own use and need not be included in your report.
The topics for this year are:
1. What archives are available on-line ?
2. What sources for British local history are available on-line?
3. What information is there about history courses in Britain? Do any of them include components of on-line teaching?
4. What information is there on the use of IT for teaching (teaching in general as well as history in particular) ?
5. What information is there on family history and genealogy? (Do not include the many web sites devoted to a particular surname unless it is your surname or that of your mother).
6. What services are offered for translating sources from "dead" languages (Latin, Egyptian, Hittite etc) ?
You should use a word processor (such as Word or Wordperfect) and hand in a report of 800-1000 words occupying 2 sides of A4. These should be handed in at the lecture on Thursday 15th October or left in the pigeon hole for this course by 5pm on that day. Pigeon holes for courses run by the School of Computer Science are to be found in the corridor on the lower ground in Block C of the Aston Webb building.
S.Laflin. 30th September 1998.