Laksamee Putnamlputnam@towson.edu

Research & Instruction Librarianhttp://bit.ly/tsemfathsp2015slides1

First… Laksamee Putnam

lputnam@towson.edu

Cook Library Reference:

410.704.2462.

IM/email

Phone: 410.704.3746.

Twitter: @CookLibraryofTU

Albert S. Cook facebook profile!

http://bit.ly/tsemfathsp2015slides1

A quick plug…

The Big Read

Free copies of the book!

Kick off event –

February 24th, 5-6:30 PM Potomoc Lounge, University Union

Book Discussion–

March 11th, 12:30-1:30 PM, Cook Library 507

Agenda Pre-class reading Discussion

Background reading/Internet searching

Keywords

Evaluating Resources

Wikipedia Woes and Google Gaffs

What are the pros and cons of so much information being online?

What do you do to be sure you’re finding credible resources? How do you evaluate the

information you find while researching?

Why is it important to support your argument with valid sources?

Pew Research Center. (2015) Chapter 3: Attitudes and beliefs on science and technology topics. Public and Scientists’ Views on Science and Society. Pages 37-57. http://www.pewinternet.org/files/2015/01/PI_ScienceandSociety_Report_012915.pdf

Dickson, E. (2014) I accidentally started a Wikipedia hoax. The Daily Dot. http://www.dailydot.com/lol/amelia-bedelia-wikipedia-hoax/

Web “Pre-Searching” Why start your search online?

Find background information

Help solidify research topic

New vocabulary words

Breadcrumb trail

Improve Google

Food and athletesSustainability and vegan diet

Advanced Google searching

Duck Duck Go

Cook Library’s Guide to the Web

Check out the TSEM Course Gateway

Keywords are critical! Sample topic:

How have processed foods negatively altered the health of Americans?

First, break the question down into key concepts:

Concept #1: processed foods

Concept #2: health

Concept #3: Americans

Think of more words Enter your synonyms here:

http://bit.ly/fathpoll14

View results here:

http://bit.ly/pollfath14r

More on keywords…

Expand your list to include synonyms then add to it once you have done some background reading.

How have processed foods negatively altered the health of Americans?

processed foods health Americans

convenience foodjunk foodfood preservation

fitnessBMIenergy

United StatesNorth Americachildren

Create keywords Write your research topic on your worksheet

Pass it to a group member

Group member fills in key concepts and synonyms

Give the worksheet back to the original owner

Don’t construct a search strategy yet!

Search Tip #1Boolean “search connectors”

AND OR NOT

internet AND children

Combining >1 topic

instruct OR teach Combining

synonymous terms

Search Tip #2 Use truncation!

Educat* finds

Educate

Education

Educating

Educator

Etc…

Search Tip #3 Phrase Searching…

Use quotations to keep a keyword phrase intact (words will be searched in the specific order)

Examples:

“No Child Left Behind”

“school reform”

Putting it all together… How have processed foods negatively altered the

health of Americans?

Processed food OR junk food

AND

Health OR obesity OR “body mass index”

AND

United States OR USA OR North America

processed foods health Americans

convenience foodjunk foodfood preservation

fitnessBMIobesity

United StatesNorth Americachildren

Create a search strategy Using the keywords on your worksheet and the search

tips mentioned here create a search strategy

Evaluate what you find Go to one of the websites below and analyze it

http://bit.ly/cosmicweb3

http://bit.ly/cosmicweb4

http://bit.ly/cosmicweb6

http://bit.ly/cosmicweb7

Check for CRAPCurrency

Reliability

Authority

Purpose/Point of View

Check for CRAP Currency

How recent is the information?

Can you locate a date when the resource was written/created/updated?

Based on your topic, is this current enough?

Why might the date matter for your topic?

Guidelines for CRAP provided by the Jean and Alexander Heard Library

http://www.flickr.com/photos/helloeveryone123/3937374193/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Check for CRAP Reliability

What kind of information is included in the resource?

Does the author provide citations & references for quotations & data

Where am I accessing this information?

Guidelines for CRAP provided by the Jean and Alexander Heard Library

http://www.flickr.com/photos/schnappi/5930145952/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Check for CRAP

Authority Can you determine who

the author/creator is? What are their

credentials (education, affiliation, experience, etc.)?

Who is the publisher or sponsor of the work/site?

Is this publisher/sponsor reputable

Guidelines for CRAP provided by the Jean and Alexander Heard Library

http://rantchick.com/a-doctrine-on-respect/

Check for CRAP Purpose/Point of View

Is the content primarily opinion?

Is the information balanced or biased?

What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain or persuade

Guidelines for CRAP provided by the Jean and Alexander Heard Library

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/5484085301/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Group work:Fill in this wall Use your search strategy in Google

Use your search strategy in Cook Library’s Guide to the Web

Pick the most interesting result from both

Enter your results here:

http://padlet.com/lputnam/tsemsp15padlet

Enter your name, search string, and a link to the website

Take a look at the results Assess the results posted with the CRAP assessment

What problems did you have ….

Coming up with keywords?

Searching for a website?

Thanks for listening! Next library session:

Pre-class reading and prepare for discussion

Use your keywords to find books/articles

Questions? Feel free to contact me:

Laksamee Putnam

lputnam@towson.edu

410.704.3746.

Twitter: @CookLibraryofTU

Or any reference librarian: Visit Cook Library Reference Desk

410.704.2462.

IM – tucookchat