Library Research

TOOLS and TIPS

Joan Taylor English 1101Reference librarian Summer 2014

LIBRARY RESOURCESPart 1 Introduction

Start at Library Homepage • Search+• Books+• Articles+• LibGuides• Services• Ask a Librarian

Clayton State University Library

LibGuides - Tools to help you!

http://clayton.libguides.com/

LibGuides INCLUDE: Featured LibGuides• Tutorials-- “how to” guides • Suggested resources • Books and e-books• Research databases• Quality websites • Quick help boxes

Start your research with a LibGuide!

Browse by subject major, librarian, or keyword

Browse by topic:

What is GALILEO?• GeorgiA Library LEarning Online (GALILEO)

• A shared resource for libraries in the State of Georgia

• Library catalogs• Library research databases• Core resources and free information for

everyone

• Academic libraries (Public and private)• Technical college libraries• Public libraries• K-12 school libraries/media centers• Atlanta History Center

EVALUATING WEB RESOURCESPart 2

Evaluating Information

• The Basics• Authority• Currency• Content• Audience• Purpose/Scope• Objectivity/Bias• Accuracy• Quality

Evaluating Web Sources

• Look at the URL• Look for clues about the author, owner,

and/or publisher of the information.• Look for symbols like ~ or %, names or

words such as “users” or “members”• Look at the domain org, com, edu, mil• Look at the domain name-Does it make

sense with your topic?

Who created the Web page?

Web Points

•Look for Basic Information:• Author? Contact Us? Email address?

• Author/Producer –Values, credentials?

• Hint: Look for “About” Link

• Currency? Look for copyright or update date

Content

• Look for: • Sources -“Suggested Resources” or “Further Reading”• Bias and possible “Other points of view”

• Purpose-Inform, sell, entertain, opinion, persuade

• Complete information

•Conclusions that are logical

• Professional page- grammar, typos, errors

Your Decision

• Is this relevant information that you can use? • Can this quality of information be found in a printed or subscription source (book, journal/magazine article)• Based on those criteria, is this

information right for your assignment?

Your turn- What do you observe about these websites?• Topic: International Currency System• http://www.imsrefo

rm.org/global.html (Reforming the International Monetary System)• http://coinmill.com

/ The Currency converter

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• Topic: Drones

• http://dronewars.net/aboutdrone/ (What are drones?)• http://www.pbs.o

rg/wgbh/nova/military/rise-of-the-drones.html (Rise of the drones)

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The Great Backyard Bird Count - Observations?• http://gbbc.birdcount.org/

• The next GBBC is February 13-16, 2015

• “Count birds anytime, anywhere, with eBird..”

Information Ethics- Definitions

About Search Engines• -All Search Engines are DIFFERENT. Each search engine only searches the sites in

its own database and these might constitute only a small portion what's available on the Internet.

• •Google –A very popular search engine with possibly the largest database. Results are ranked using a complex algorithm called PageRank which attempts to measure the relative importance of a website.

• Yahoo! --Database includes over a million web pages and objects. Search results are ranked by relevancy. Shortcuts feature provides instant access to relevant and useful content.

• •Bing--Option to connect with your Facebook account to allow social searching with friends.

• •Yippy-- groups your search results by topics or "clouds". A bonus to using this site is that it doesn't collect identifying information about you or track your online activities. It does, however, censor search results to block out content it deems questionable such as pornography and gambling sites.

• •DuckDuckGo-does not collect information from users or use cookies to track them. In addition to search results suggested topics are provided.

• (Lots of Ads so beware of sites that are selling something!!)

SEARCH STRATEGIES- FINDING WHAT YOU NEED

Part 3

Building a search strategy

Topic: What are the financial benefits of solar panels?

Break down the topic into keywords.

Keywords: financial, benefits, solar panels

Find Alternative Keywords

Brainstorm for alternativewords.

Keywords: financial, benefits, solar panels

Alternative Keywords: cost, money, savings, advantages, solar energy, sun power

Did you know that AND is automatically used by Google and other search engines to combine terms?

BOOLEAN Operators are connectors:

AND = narrows “women” and “hypertension”

OR = expands “hypertension” or “high blood pressure”

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“Boolean” is named after George Boole, a 19th century mathematician

Build a Boolean search

• Enclose phrases in () or “” to keep words together & in order

• Connect different concepts with AND• “food business” AND contamination

• Connect similar concepts with OR• “Food business” OR “food industry”

Build a Boolean search strategy

(“Food business” OR “food industry”) AND (contamination OR “foodborne

diseases”) AND (“safety measures” OR prevention)

Journals, Magazines, and Trade Publications

Journals Magazines Trade PublicationsAmerican Sociological Review, Journal of Physical Chemistry

Newsweek, Ebony

Aviation Today, Chronicle of Higher Education

Scholarly information-Primary Source-Unique researchSecondary Source-historical review of literature

Popular information

Limited industry/business information- (i.e. airlines, construction, etc.)

For researchers/professors to stay current on a topic.

For casual readers seeking general information.

For practitioners, includes technical terms for that career field.

Illustrations include charts, graphics to support article

May include bright covers and advertising.

Glossy covers and pages

Longer articles, footnotes. Bibliographies.

Short articles. Advertising geared for the industry or business

Search in Academic Search Complete (GALILEO resource)

Journal Article

The Key Steps to Research• Know and understand your assignment• Clarify your topic• Be flexible in your search• Critically evaluate your resources

• QUESTIONS ?

• • Library Research “Tools and Tips” Joan Taylor uses material from “Intro to Library Research” by Erin Nagel, “Google and Beyond Slides” UC Berkeley Library. Copyright c2012 http://

www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Handouts.html used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unreported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0