Download - Research Strategies
Research Strategies
Fenton Valley CollegeIntro. To College Research
November 5, 2013Eliot Boden
Image credit Clker user MrChicken
Information Literacy Recap“Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to
recognize when information is needed and have the ability to
locate, evaluate, and effectively use the needed information.”*
Determine the extent of information needed
Access the needed information effectively and efficiently
Evaluate information and its sources critically
Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base
Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding
the use of information, and access and use information
ethically and legally
* Association of College and Research Libraries. “Information Literacy Competency Standards.” Chicago: American Library Association, 2000. http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency. Web. 12 Nov 2013.
Today’s Objective
Standard 2: The information literate student accesses
needed information effectively and efficiently.
The information literate student…
Selects the most appropriate investigative methods or
information retrieval systems for accessing the needed
information.Constructs and implements effectively designed search strategies.Retrieves information online or in person using a variety of methods.
* Association of College and Research Libraries. “Information Literacy Competency Standards.” Chicago: American Library Association, 2000. http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency. Web. 12 Nov 2013.
http://vimeo.com/13186317
Scholarly Communication
PublishersCreate books,
journals, electronic databases
LibrariesPurchase, organize, and give access to
resources
UsersApply information
to research
Write articles and submit them for peer-review
Package content and sell access rights to
libraries
Teach information literacy to students
How Many Keywords?
Most databases do not understand human language
Google’s natural-language search is not perfect
Must break down question into small pieces
Keywords (Thesaurus)
3-4 is just the right amount
1. State your topic as a question
“Where have dinosaur bones been found?”
2. Extract the main concepts from the question
dinosaur, bones, location
3. Brainstorm a list of synonyms and related terms
fossil, skeleton, triceratops [a dinosaur], Colorado [a location]
4. Voila! You have your keywords! Book image credit deviantart user narutolove1477 Dinosaurs image credit Wikipedia user Mariana Ruiz Villareal
Group Activity!
~7 minutes. In groups of 3-4, brainstorm keywords for one of the
topics above.
Image credit Flickr user lumaxart
Immigration
Independence
movementsGlobal Warming
Piracy
Search Techniques
Useful in the catalog and online databases.
Computers do not understand human language
Operators help a computer think
Boolean? What?
AND, OR, NOT – narrow or broaden search
NEAR, BEFORE, AFTER – sets order of terms
Wildcards
Expand the range of your search
* - searches the root word
“soci*” will find social, society, sociology
! – for alternate spellings
“wom!n” will find woman and women
Playing Cards image credit Wikipedia user atchiusGeorge Boole image credit Wikipedia user Haks
See you Next Time!
DON’T FORGET! The Research Plan is due Tuesday, November 12 at the
start of class.
Research StrategiesContinued…
Fenton Valley CollegeIntro. To College Research
November 12, 2013Eliot Boden
image credit deviantart user MegLyman
Today’s Objective:
Standard 2: The information literate student accesses
needed information effectively and efficiently.
The information literate student…
Retrieves information online or in person using a variety of methods.Refines the search strategy if necessary.Extracts, records, and manages the information and its sources.
Library of Congress (LC) Books grouped by subject
In alphabetical, then numerical order
Great for browsing!
Here's a sample call number, with an explanation for each line:
QA - letter line, describes general subject area; alphabetical order
152.3 - number line, narrows subject area; numerical order
.L37 - cutter line, usually specifies author or key word(s) from title; alphabetical then decimal order
2008 - year of publication, numerical order
Image credit Flickr user CCAC North Library
How to Use Call Numbers
Using Interlibrary Loan
Fenton Valley has 40,000 titles MOBIUS has 25 million books
Request with your student ID
~3-4 days to arrive
Use the catalog to renew
Articles Citations in library databases
Full-Text must be available in electronic format to request
Usually 5-7 days to arrive
Link will appear in your emailImage credit Flickr user Brian Gaid
Group Activity!
~ 5 minutes. In groups of 2-3, use the
MOBIUS catalog to find books and answer the questions provided on the
worksheet.Image credit Flickr user lumaxart
Group Activity!
~5 minutes. In groups of 2-3, use Academic Search Premier to find articles and answer the questions
provided on the worksheet.Image credit Flickr user lumaxart
How to Cite Sources
Why Cite? Appear more credible to your
readers.
Display engagement with your sources.
Show respect to authors.
Modem Language Association (MLA)
Helpful Resources MLA Handbook 7th ed.
Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab)
Hanging Indent! Format > Paragraph >
Indentation:Special (drop-down menu)
Image credit Flickr user pricejaj
http://vimeo.com/13016416
Thanks for Participating!
DON’T FORGET! The Modified Annotated Bibliography is due
Tuesday, November 19.