Information Seeking Strategies Location and Access of Sources Mrs. Knopp, Library Media Specialist

Information Seeking Strategies Determine the range of possible sources of information (Brainstorm) Evaluate the possible sources to determine the best sources for this research project. Use a variety of sources

Information Sources Print (Reference, books, periodicals and newspapers) Online (access via the Internet) Databases eBooks Websites / Google

Discussion What is a subscription database and how does it differ from the Internet? Describe your past experiences with searching for information in a subscription database.

Locate Sources How can you find the required sources of information? BOOKS School / Public Library catalogPublic Library DATABASES School website My Account / Applications or Class Page (Lord of the Flies Research Project)

Find Information Within Sources When using a database, the Internet or library catalog, what are the best keywords to use? Keywords are the key to success!

What are keywords? Keywords are the word or words that you type into the search box The search engine looks for these words…..

TRANSLATE YOUR RESEARCH QUESTIONS INTO KEYWORDS When searching databases or the library catalog, what are the best keywords to use? REMEMBER: Less is More FEWER Keywords = GREATER Results

Identify Keywords Question... Who founded Jonestown? Keyword? What is Apartheid? Keyword?

Phrases as Keywords A keyword can also be a phrase “Great Depression” “Air bags” Phrases may need to be put in “quotation marks”

Keyword vs. Subject Keyword Searches for keyword anywhere in document Less focused/greater number of results Subject Searches for keyword in subject heading only More focused/fewer number of results

Boolean Operators Use Boolean operators (AND OR NOT) to join two or more keywords together Will either narrow or expand your search results

Boolean Operators AND - All the terms joined by "AND" must appear in the pages or documents. (narrow) OR - At least one of the terms joined by "OR" must appear in the pages or documents. (expand) NOT - The term(s) following "NOT" must not appear in the pages or documents. (narrow)

Subscription Databases

Keep track of sources to avoid plagiarism Download / Print / Photocopy sources Index cards help keep sources organized. On one side record bibliographic information, and on the other side take notes about the source. NoodleTools allows you to create Works Cited page and electronic notecards Databases are already cited; copy and paste to Works Cited page or enter into NoodleTools See Works Cited Word Template on Class Page