brainstorming with google
DESCRIPTION
Ideas for brainstorming research topic using GoogleTRANSCRIPT
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Getting Started: Using Google to Brainstorm
Research Topics
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Brainstorming a Topic: Looking for Ideas
• Think about a topic that interests you.
• Consider the following idea-starters:
– My friends and I like to argue about…
– Someone believes …; however, I believe …
– I think we should pass a law so that …
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GooglePros ConsExtensive search results Search results can be
overwhelming
Starting point for background information
Results filled with non-relevant items despite refining
Retrieve websites by scholars, experts
Retrieve websites by non-experts - Scholarship varies
Become familiar with topic NOT everything is available through Google
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WikipediaPros ConsAnyone can edit ANYONE can edit!
Possible starting point for unfamiliar topic
Information can change on daily basis - Superficial level of scholarship
Mine for search terms Inaccuracies (truthiness)
Covers a wide range of topics Wikilobbying (companies, politicians, etc. skew facts)
Some articles list bibliographies or references
Quality of articles inconsistent or biased
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Benefits of Google Searching
• Become more familiar with a topic
• Pick out search terms that can be used for
library searching
• Find bibliographies
• Google Scholar, Google Books…
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Connecting Your Search Terms
Google & Research Databases offer this type of searching. Databases may present this option differently.
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Searching Google More Effectively
• Limit your results by producer or organization: site: .org .edu .gov
• Refine search options
• Find recent websites - “climate change” 2008..2010
• Synonyms - ~film→ movies, movie, cinema
• Advanced search link
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Smarter Googling
Focus a Google search:
• site: -- limits results to certain sites or domains– american history / american history site:loc.gov – libertarian / libertarian site:edu
• intitle: -- limits results to pages with search terms in the page title– rosa parks king / intitle:"rosa parks" intitle:king– douglass abolition / intitle:douglass intitle:abolition
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Smarter Googling
Build from good results:
• link: -- discover what other sites link to a site– historymatters.gmu.edu– link:historymatters.gmu.edu
• related: -- discover other similar sites– related:loc.gov– related:snopes.com
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Googling continued→ Limitations• Quotation marks can be used around phrases
– “climate change” – but they might eliminate useful results if too specific
• barack hussein obama vs. “barack hussein obama”• Databases often DO require quotes around phrases.
• Synonyms ~ work well with one-word searches BUT not with phrase searching like “climate change”– Many databases will retrieve similar terms like global warming,
greenhouse effect…
• Other limitations…
• For more tips, see: http://bit.ly/moregoogle
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Limitations
Limitations of Google as a research tool
• Google’s index doesn’t include everything that is
online. (e.g., licensed resources)
• Searches often have overwhelming numbers of
results. Databases usually more focused.
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Limitations
Realities of the Web
• Most info on the Web is not scholarly
• Web is constantly in flux, being edited and
indexed; inaccurate to think of Google info as a
static “snapshot” of the Web
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Google Instant
• Released Sept. 8, 2010
• Revises results as you type
• More info:
– Introducing Google Instant (YouTube)
– Could Reinvent Channel Flipping (wired.com)
– Is this the best they could come up with? (
telegraph.co.uk)
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Google Scholar
• Google’s index of scholarly literature
• Set Google preferences to get Mason resources
(“Find it@GM”)
• Google Scholar is one way to access resources,
not the way.
• Is the “cited by” information useful?
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Google Books
• Useful in conjunction with library catalog (linked
from catalog record)
• May include book summaries, reviews, table of
contents, selected pages, etc.
• Links to purchase options BUT the library can
often provide it for free.
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Can you find…
Authoritative information about the
species of bird called the Baltimore oriole
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Can you find…
Authoritative information about the
species of bird called the Baltimore oriole
• Baltimore oriole –baseball• Baltimore oriole birds –baseball• Baltimore oriole +habitat• Baltimore oriole +plumage etc.
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Can you find…
Reputable academic discussions
(essays, articles, etc.) about Lady Gaga
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Can you find…
Reputable academic discussions
(essays, articles, etc.) about Lady Gaga
• "lady gaga" site:edu• link:ladygaga.com site:edu
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Can you find…
Information about George Mason
(the man); limited to only .edu or .org
sites, not .com sites
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Can you find…
Information about George Mason (the
man); limited to only using .edu or .org
sites, not .com sites • george mason site:edu site:org• (“george mason” site:edu) OR (“george mason” site:org)
• “george mason” site:edu|site:org
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Can you find…
You’re building a model of an 18th-century
sailing ship. What is the fore topmast
studding sail and where does it go?
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Can you find…
You’re building a model of an 18th-century
sailing ship. What is the fore topmast
studding sail and where does it go?
• sailboat diagram
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Brainstorming Alternative: InfoGuides
• Starting point for ideas
• By subject/discipline
• Reliable sources evaluated by librarians
• Variety of sources: books, articles, images, DVDs,
primary sources
• Resources you only have access while students
at Mason
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Library InfoGuidesPros ConsResources selected by librarians Not all resources full text
Created for specific academic subjects & classes / Resources organized by subject
May not always know the correct word/phrase to use
Link to library catalogs & databases
Resources→ Not as many as Google or Wikipedia
Access to resources NOT available in Google/Wikipedia
Not every resource every published
Scholarly resources from various time periods