Tech & Society  1223Search Strategies

& Resource Selection

Phillip FitzsimmonsReference and Digitization LibrarianAl Harris Library phillip.fitzsimmons@swosu.edu

Your class Web page, containing all of the information presented in this session, is available at the link: Tech & Society1223.

Do you feel like this guy when deciding what resources to use in an assignment?

The purpose of today’s presentation is to help you to discover what resources to use.

Avoid making serious errors in your assignments by evaluating the quality of the resources you use.

•Do not use the method shown above.•Rely upon resources from the Al Harris Library or other universities.

Why Should You Use These Resources? • These are the resources your

professors want for you to use.• The habit of using these resources

will contribute to your success as a student and enrich your education.

• Using the best information resources available to you will make you look smarter and more professional throughout your life.

• Because it is fun and it feels good.• If you need more, see number one.

Remember:

• Make sure you understand your assignment completely. Plan ahead so that you satisfy all it its requirements.

• Get most of the information for your assignment through the Library Home Page. Use Web sites mostly for getting ideas, not as sources for your assignment.

• When in doubt ask your Professor.

Chapter 2 AssignmentIn Preparation: Pick a current event article using the library websiteA current event news article is a relevant (no more than 2 months old) article written in a print or digital news media source.• Read the article thoroughly• Highlight the MOST important information (main ideas) in the

article.• Underline any words/phrases/references unclear to you (if

necessary).• Using the format below. Complete assignment by writing a 2

paragraph summary.Your Name:_________________________Name of the Publication:_______________Date of Publication:___________________Author(s) name:______________________The Paper:Paragraph 1-Summary of the Main Ideas of the article in your own

words.Paragraph 2-Your reflection/opinion/commentary on the issues presented in the article. What do you think about this topic?

Search Technique Number One:

Keywords

Identifying Keywords:

• Identify the significant terms and concepts that describe your topic from your thesis statement or research question.

• These terms will become the key for searching catalogs, databases, and search engines for information about your subject.

Keyword Phrases:

• Single concept, multiple words• Some electronic resources require

keyword phrases be enclosed with punctuation– Quotation marks – SWOSU Catalog – Parentheses

Examples of Keyword Phrases:

• “Renewable Energy”• “Energy

Independence”• “Nuclear Energy”

Search Technique Number Two:

Basic Boolean

Boolean

• AND = Narrow

• OR = Expand

• NOT = Exclude

Boolean Operators

• Connect keywords only• Must be placed between keywords

--ANDNarrows your search

--ORExpands your search with synonymous terms

--NOT– Excludes words from your search– If used too much, it can work against you!

The Resources:

Three Places for Resources:

Place Resources• Catalogs Books

• Databases Articles

• Internet Web Pages

Resource I: Books

• Al Harris Library holds 300,000 volumes. Use the library catalog to find print and ebooks.

• We have more than 70,000 ebooks. They are exactly like print books except they don’t have to be checked out and can be read on your computer. Many are about current scientific topics.

• Books will provide information for the scientific and social aspects of your topic.

3 Book Sources:

• Printed books found on the 2nd Floor.

• Ebooks linked to catalog records.• Books you get through interlibrary

loan.

SWOSU Libraries Homepage: http://www.swosu.edu/library/

Books

Articl

es

Use keyword and Boolean strategies when searching the catalog:

Click link to Other library catalogs to get to

Open WorldCat:

Open WorldCat:

• Open WorldCat can be searched using keywords to find out what books have been written about your topic.

• If Al Harris does not own the book you need, you can use Open WorldCat to request the book from another library. This is called an Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

Open WorldCat: (Linked to the Library Home page.)

Source II: Databases• American Chemical Society Journals• Ebsco: Computer & Applied Science• Environment Complete• GreenFILE• Today’s Science• Web of Science or Web of Knowledge

Source II: DatabasesAlso Try:

• Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/technology/• Ebsco: Academic Search Complete • Ebsco: Business Source Complete• Gen: www.genengnews.com• National Newspapers Core (ProQuest)• Newspaper Source Plus

Click Science & Math link to find appropriate Databases:

Search: “solution” in the database Today’s Science

The Switchgrass Solution—Green Gold? February 2008

Use keywords from the end of the article to do searches in other databases.

American Chemical Society (ACS) publishes peer-reviewed research on chemical and related sciences:

Also Resources II: Periodicals are in the Databases.Click Periodicals List link to find appropriate periodicals:

Use UlrichsWeb to find the titles of journals.

Search periodical name or subject.

Click blue links to open the periodical.

Search the periodical or browse by opening year links.

Source III: Web sites• Domain Names are the last letters at the end

of web addresses such as .org, .com, .edu, .gov.

• Including .edu or .gov in your Web search will improve the quality of your search results by retrieving only educational and government Web sites.

Examples: Biofuels .gov , Biofuels .edu

• Consider the following Domain Names: .edu — education, .gov —government, .biz — business, .eu — European country, .in – India, .cn – China.

• For a dictionary of Domain Names go to: http://www.techdictionary.com/domainlist.html.

Source III: Web sites

• Google Site Search:1. Use keyword and Site search strategies for

finding credible information on the Web. 2. Always be aware of the bias of each site.

• Government sites1. Use USA.gov to find information in sites you

do not know about.2. Use key phrases “technical report” or

“special report” in your search to get the information you want.

Google Site Specific Search results:Large Scale

Nuclear http://nuclearinfo.net/Hydroelectric http://www.hydro.org/index.phpSolar http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solarWind http://www.nrel.gov/wind/Tides http://www.eere.energy.govNatural Gashttp://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/natural_gas/info_glance/natural_gas.htmlClean Coal http://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/powersystems/cleancoal/Biofuels http://www.nrel.gov/learning/re_biofuels.htmlGeothermalhttp://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/

MobileHybrid http://www.eere.energy.gov/de/hybrid_power.htmlCNG http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/transportation/CNG.htmlHydrogen Fuel Cell http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/

Storage Systems http://www.sandia.gov/ess/tech_home.html

Other Sites of Interesthttp://www.nrel.govhttp://www.eia.doe.gov/http://www.ehponline.org/

usa.gov is the information clearinghouse for the entire Federal Government. Use it to search all government Web sites simultaneously.

Government Web sites for your assignment:

• NASA-- http://www.nasa.gov/• USGS-- http://www.usgs.gov/• National Science Foundation--

http://www.nsf.gov/• Department of Energy-- http://

www.energy.gov• Government Information Clearinghouse--

http://www.usa.gov/

Tip for searching Government Web sites:

• Include the key phrase “technical report” or “special report” to your search. This will bring science-oriented documents to the top of your results and that are also brochure- and book-length.

Click Instruction link to get to APA citation guide:

APA Citation Guides: Digital

• Citing Sources in APA Style : Al Harris Library (SWOSU) 

http://campusguides.swosu.edu/apa

• OWL: Purdue Online Writing Lab http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/1/

Writing Center Fall 2013 hours

• Where: (Al Harris Library--B3) • Calendar: September 3 through Wednesday, December 11.

Fall 2013 Hours• Sunday: 7-9pm• Monday: 2-5pm & 6-9pm• Tuesday: 9am-noon & 1-6pm• Wednesday: 2-4pm & 6-9pm• Thursday: 9am-noon & 1-6pm• Friday: 2-5pm• Saturday: Offering limited Saturday hours this semester. Please call

or email for more information.  To schedule an appointment

• email writingcenter@swosu.edu. • Call (580) 774-7083, • “like” the S.W.O.S.U. Writing Center on Facebook, or follow us on

Twitter (@swosuwrites) for the most up-to-date scheduling information. Please keep in mind that these hours are subject to change depending on consultants’ schedules as the semester progresses.

 

Recap:

1. The assignment: Know your assignment and cover all of its requirements.

2. Search strategies: Keywords/Boolean3. Apply strategies to resources4. Places of resources:

Catalogs, for BooksDatabases, for ArticlesWeb, for Web sites

5. Contact me or any of the other librarians for future help.

Questions?• Contact me:

– Phillip Fitzsimmons– 744-3030

phillip.fitzsimmons@swosu.edu

Please evaluate this class at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9ZR9MRY