Saturday, September 25, 2010

Evaluation of an Academic Website: ISI Web of Knowledge

Institution:

ISI Web of Knowledge

Summary:

ISI Web of Knowledge is a web database published by Thomson Reuters. The website compiles articles from various disciplines, including the social sciences, arts, and humanities.

Links:


Three links I found pertinent to the class were:

http://apps.isiknowledge.com.proxy.binghamton.edu/full_record.do?product=UA&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=1&SID=U1P3GPnG8A1j7li5JpD&page=1&doc=9&colname=WOS

This article is listed in the ISI database, wherein the author uses Walter Benjamin’s work in their examinations of culture, history, and politics. I believe that in examining this article, we can see how a writer uses a specific piece of writing to strengthen their own points.

http://apps.isiknowledge.com.proxy.binghamton.edu/full_record.do?product=UA&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=2&SID=U1P3GPnG8A1j7li5JpD&page=1&doc=1&colname=WOS

This article struck me as pertinent to our purposes from the moment I read the title, “Media and the Making of Modern Germany: Mass Communications, Society, and Politics from the Empire to the Third Reich”. The article is an example on how media has defined and shaped society, something that is very close to our discussions in class.

http://apps.isiknowledge.com.proxy.binghamton.edu/full_record.do?product=UA&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=3&SID=U1P3GPnG8A1j7li5JpD&page=1&doc=8&colname=WOS

This third piece I have found seems very relevant to our discussions in this class, because the article is communications between Benjamin and Adorno, two authors that we have examined so far.

Evaluation:

I found that the ISI Web of Knowledge was a very effective website for doing research. Searching is made very simple with customizable options. Because the website compiles articles across many disciplines, the Web of Knowledge is useful not just for one or two classes or majors but can be used for every class all semester. The database also assists students in citations, especially for abstracts, which will help us in our work this semester.

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