Objectives: Create effective search queries. Use criteria to evaluate sources. Find materials from catalog in the library.

#1 Tip: Understand that research is a PROCESS. Early in the research process: O General info is useful to build a basic knowledge base. O Initial questions: Who is _______? What religious conflict was he involved with? When was that? O Encyclopedias Later in your research: O Basic knowledge about your topic = ability to focus and create a more specific research question O Later question: How did ______’s politics and culture contribute to the societal changes of the ____ decade? O Books, Databases

General to Specific Start general, then get specific as you refine your knowledge and narrow your focus. General: Brittanica, possibly NetTrekker Issues: Issues & Controversies, ProQuest History: History Study Center, ABC-Clio Countries: CultureGrams Image from

Search Tips

google.com/advanced_search

scholar.google.com

Ctrl + F

Beyond Google: Directories  Organized into subject categories  Librarians’ Internet Index (lii.org)  Infomine  About.com – a collection of specialized directories  Yahoo’s directory   4 million UNevaluated pages - about 0.06% of Yahoo! search

Beyond Google: Databases O EW Databases: limited O Public Library Databases: much broader range of subjects and content O University Databases: best range O JSTOR is awesome, EBSCO too O Tips: O Check out advanced search options O Always search for ‘full text’ articles O Use the tools: articles (pdfs if available) to yourself; use the given MLA citations

Other Tools  Alexa: See who links to the site and who owns the domain.  Google: Similar sites through Preview

Evaluating Sources How to Decide Whom to Trust And What to Use Created by Lauren Wolter, Adapted from Joyce Valenza’s Power Tools Recharged And Joe Barker & John Kupersmith’s Beyond Google

The Problems: Anyone can put up a Web page about anything Many pages not kept up-to-date No quality control most sites not “peer-reviewed” less trustworthy than scholarly publications no selection guidelines for search engines

The Questions:  What are the qualities of a good source?  How do we weed through the many sources to find the best ones?

CARRDS Acronym  Credibility  Accuracy  Reliability  Relevance  Date  Sources Behind the Source

Credibility Who is the author? What are his or her credentials? * Education * Experience Affiliation with any universities, museums, scientific, or professional communities? Image from Who is the person/organization putting this info out there? Are they qualified to do so?

Credibility: How to Find Out Look for: * Books: Check back cover, back flap. * Websites: Look for tab or link: Author Information, About Us/Me, Philosophy, Background, Biography * URL: Learn about affiliations by going to the main page (truncate URL after.com/.org/.edu/.net) Image from How do you know who I am?

Accuracy Can facts, statistics, or other info be verified through other sources? Based upon your knowledge, does the info seem accurate? (Or does it contradict other info you’ve found?) Does author cite his/her sources? Which is it? Image from or-your-story-which-one-are-you-telling-yourself/

Reliability Does the source present a particular view or bias? Issues/historical events: does the source acknowledge more than one “side” to the issue or event? Does the info seem “slanted” toward a particular side or agenda? Are sources biased organizations? You’ve got it on ___ news. Image from

Relevance Does this info directly support my hypothesis/thesis? Does this info help to answer my research questions? Does this info add to my research or simply repeat the same info I found elsewhere? Will this piece of info ADD to the bigger picture of your research? Image from

Date When was this info created? When/how was it revised? Are these dates meaningful in terms of the particular subject matter? Look at bottom of page for “Last Updated” or copyright date. Is this info outdated? Image from

Sources Behind the Source Look at the sources this author cites. If no sources are cited, that may be a warning sign. Did the author use reliable, credible sources? Do the links work? HINT: If so, you may want to find some of this author’s sources. Did the author use credible sources? Could you use them too? Image from rethinking-the-logic-behind-web-search-engines/

What are the different ways you can search the catalog? (HINT: What buttons can you press in Destiny to choose how to search?)

The Catalog O Print resources O Non-fiction O O Biography O Reference

Searching Catalogs O Use words and phrases, NOT questions O Advanced search (and, not; format of material) O Quotation marks around a phrase or name (“henry viii” or “crusades”) O Type of search (keyword, title, subject) O Use the subject headings in the record to find other similar resources. O Extra hint: Use ‘find’ to search within records/descriptions. Look at contents of record to see which chapters you might focus on.