Strategies for Researching Information Online Department of Technology Eastern Kentucky University

Outline Need for superior online search techniques Developing the ability to: Determine breath and depth of information needed Search for information in an organized and efficient manner Evaluate sources of information critically Reference and cite sources properly using standard formats Conclusions

Sources of Information: Anecdotal vs. Scientific Online information can be a mix of fact and outright fiction. It might be dated, current or upcoming Identifying the: Key journals and authors in the field is important Keywords related to the topic

Searching for Information: Surfing Vs Diving Instead of using ‘natural language phrases’ in Internet search engines Use online bibliographic databases by identifying ‘keywords’

Search Strategy: Haphazard Vs Structured Using a ‘semi-natural language’ search engine (Google) normally results in numerous hits – but not all lead to the required information Structure for searching Methodical even if pace is slower Using article keywords Synonyms for keywords Technical information posted in list servers and newsgroups Using the free Web – search engines Accessing subscribed databases – Science Direct

Navigating the Online EKU Libraries Databases

Citing Articles http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu/apa.html Citing sources in the text and listing sources properly is very important – give the author(s) credit for their contributions In technology the APA (American Psychological Association) format is commonly used. http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu/apa.html http://linguistics.byu.edu/faculty/henrichsenl/apa/APA01.html http://www.citationmachine.net/index.php?callstyle=2&all In the EKU online databases for automatically generating APA references After identifying articles click the ‘Add’ button next to the article to add it to a virtual folder (which is above the list of articles) Click to open the folder Place a check mark in the articles for which APA references are needed Click ‘Save’ (you may choose print also) In the ‘Include when saving’ section, under ‘Citation Format’ change to APA Click the ‘Save’ button The references will be listed on the web page under the title ‘reference list’ and can also be printed.

Using Google … if you must Order of words important - 1st word most important, 10 words max Search based on how many and which pages have intentionally added links pointing to another web page. Default connective is ‘and’. For other use parenthesis, as in: dog (cat or mouse) Searching scholarly literature http://scholar.google.com Acts as a calculator: 2+2 in search area

Reviewing Articles ‘Full-text’ document may not be the best source of information – often information has to be requested from outside sources using inter-library loans Bibliographic references given at the end of most articles can and should then be used as sources of further information - especially those articles which you find useful. Search for the article(s) whose reference is provided in the 1st article and continue expanding your ‘search net’

Top 10 Ways for Using Google Effectively 10. Local area search: http://local.google.com, by zip, area code 9. Restrict to sites, as in nemo site: gov 8. Definitions of words using define: word, as in define: googol 7. Exclude words from search using ‘-’ and include using ‘+’, as in: Disney –pixar 6. Drop common words (to, the, etc.) in search text, unless wanted explicitly

Top 10 Ways for Using Google Effectively 5. Localize by type of file, as in “phrase” filetype:pdf 4. Phrase the question as an answer – instead of “How many awards did Finding Nemo win”, use “Nemo won * awards” 3. Use wildcards ‘*’ instead of words, as in “eastern * university” 2. For phrases use “search phrase”, as in “Finding Nemo” 1. For complex searches use “advanced search” – located beside the initial search area

Conclusions Reduce the guesswork while searching for information online Find information in an organized and efficient manner - migrate from ‘natural language’ to ‘keyword’ driven searches Evaluate sources of information critically Cite the sources used while writing your article using standard reference styles