I already know how to search!

Some searching basics: • Keywords

• Common Tips

• Boolean Operators

•Especially forEspecially for

KeywordsKeywords

• What are the most important words in your research question?

What are some stories What are some stories about dragons that come about dragons that come from a Chinese from a Chinese perspective?perspective?

KeywordsKeywords

• What are the most important words in your research question?

What are some about dragons that come from a Chinese perspective?

STORIES

KeywordsKeywords

• What are the most important words in your research question?

What are some stories about that come from a Chinese perspective?

DRAGONS

KeywordsKeywords

• What are the most important words in your research question?

What are some stories about dragons that come from a perspective?

CHINESE

Let’s look at a practice site!Let’s look at a practice site!

•21st Century Information Fluency: Keyword Challenge

Common TipsCommon Tips

• Nesting: Placing terms in parentheses to indicate separate units. (Like an equation, (A or B) not C

•Quotation marks: Around exact phrases (e.g. "university of washington")

•Wildcards and truncation symbols: (* # ? !) For terms that have variant forms of spelling or different possible endings. Examples: child* for child, children, childhood, childish, etc.

( )

Boolean OperatorsBoolean Operators

• Logical or Boolean operators: Connecting words that narrow or broaden a search to include only what you need. Examples: OR, AND, NOT

Let’s look at the Boolean Machine…

Let’s look at a practice site!Let’s look at a practice site!

• Research 101: Searching

Now, aboutNow, about

Google, like most search engines, uses some of the conventions we have just learned about.

It also has some of its own. You can find out about these if you do the following…

Choose “About Google”

Choose “Help and How to Search”

Choose “Search tips and features”

Choose “Basics of Search”

You will arrive at a page that gives you good tips!

Three essentialThree essential Tips!Tips!

Use quotation marks to look for words in the exact order you entered them.

Three essentialThree essential Tips!Tips!

Use a minus sign (-) to exclude a word from your search.

Three essentialThree essential Tips!Tips!

To limit a search to web sites by certain groups, use the site operator e.g. site:edu or site:org

Let’s play theLet’s play the game!game!

Directions:Directions: 1. Work with a partner to answer the question given.

2. You have 15 minutes.

3. Record your search terms and the number of “hits” each strategy gives you.

4. The team with the fewest number of hits and the correct answer wins!

Let’s try…Let’s try…

• What are the symptoms of seasonal depression disorder?

CitationsCitationsGoogle. Google Homepage. 14 Mar, 2006. <http://www.google.com>.

Jupiterimages Corporation. ClipArt.com School Edition. 10 Mar. 2006 <http://schools.clipart.com/>.

Kane, Susan. “Evaluating Your Search Strategy.” Research 101. 14 March, 2006. University of Washington Libraries <http://

Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. “Question to Query.” 21st Century Research Skills. 14 March 2006. 21st Century Information Fluency Project. 13 March, 2006 http://21cif.imsa.edu/tutorials/challenge/Q2Q/KeywordChallenge.swf.

Shrock, Rockwell. “The Boolean Machine.” Kathy Shrock’s Homepage. 14 March 2006. Kathy Shrock.http://kathyschrock.net/rbs3k/boolean/

Watkins, Katrine and Kathleen Elder. “The Google Game,” School Library Journal. January 2006, pp. 52-54.