1. 7 Search Strategies plus 1 for good luck!

2. First things First… Powerful Searching Requires: Curiosity, Perseverance & Adaptability You CAN do this!

3. Steps... 1. Define what you’re looking for 2. Plan for Notetaking 3. Go to the Experts 4. Choose Where to Search 5. Create Effective Search Queries 6. Dig Deep & Analyze Search Results 7. Evaluate the Source

4. 1. Define what you’re looking for HOW? by Connecting and Wondering Brainstorm “I Think I Knows” If starting with a general topic or essential question, start by brainstorming what you think you know about the topic or issue; including the people involved,, possible impact, timing, locality etc.

5. Gain a General Overview Read a general overview from an encyclopedia type resource to gain a basic understanding of your topic. Ask Questions! Generate I want to know and need to know questions based on your general overview, I think I knows, audience and purpose.

6. Fine Tune Questions for Research Identify researchable questions of import. Flip import questions to make researchable. Think...what info will help me answer my questions? As you Investigate, keep asking questions! These questions lead to further Investigation.

7. 2. Plan for Notetaking Consider your information need and purpose when planning for note taking. Do you need to compare and contrast info found? Consider a written chart, Google Spreadsheets or Excel. Would a survey work? Consider Google Forms Could you create a rough outline, boxes and bullets or web to help organize information found?

8. How about a timeline? or a Cause and Effect organization. Are you working collaboratively? If so would diigo groups, a wiki or google docs work well? No matter what you choose, make sure to keep track of found resources as you go so that you can get back to them in order to review and cite!

9. Consider coggle app (via Drive) to organize possible search terms and ideas

10. NoodleTools: Can help organize all of your information in one place!

11. 3. Go to the Experts Consider WHO or what ORGANIZATION will provide the most reliable information about your topic or issue? Consider contacting an expert to learn even more! Who are the stakeholders? Who is closely affected by or involved with this topic or issue? Who are the leaders? Where might they publish their information? Organization websites? Journal Articles? Consider Primary Sources for first hand accounts & from the source comments or statistics. Consider Secondary Resources-others who’ve already researched this topics.

12. 4. Choose WHERE to Search Pathfinders Generated lists of credible resources recommended to use for a particular project or purpose. Print Resources Books are viable resources for many topics Library Databases Purchased, high quality information. Also called the hidden or invisible web

13. Search Directories Limits searches to resources considered credible sources of information Curation Sites Resources already collected by others about a topic or issue Search Engines Try a variety! Primary Sources First hand historical accounts

14. Real Time Search Set up alerts and feeds for the up to date resources Social Search Use Twitter hashtags, Tumblr etc to find expert comments, current events, survey peoples reactions Resource Lists Use Resource Lists provided by credible sources to dig deeper and get to the original information source

15. 5. Create Effective Search Queries “Imagine your dream document; what words would the author of that document definitely include?” - Joyce Valenza Don’t ask questions. Think about how your answer will be phrased and search for that!

16. How? Extract KEYWORDS from your questions and search needs Nouns are better than verbs Eliminate non-essential words. Use specific words Consider multiple meanings and possible synonyms Change word order Use Boolean Operators (AND OR NOT) Use Quotes to keep words together Use * to replace letters or words you’re unsure about Remember: Shorter Search Strings= more results, Longer Search Strings= less results

17. Use Advanced Search If it’s there...use it! The Search Box may not be the best way to find what you’re looking for. Look for other drop down options Look for the site’s “Site Map” to see its Table of Contents Are there advanced search tools available? Check the Help screen.

18. Narrowing Your Research Topic and Searching for Sources video

19. Seton Library eReference includes: Databases: Academic OneFile Biography in Context Britannica Academic (Encyclopedia) Britannica Library (Encyclopedia) General OneFile Student Resources in Context US History in Context World History in Context...and more!! eBooks: American Decades American Food by the Decades Bowling, Beatniks...Pop Culture Dictionary of American History Ency. of Science & Religion Ency. of World Biography History Behind the Headlines Moral, Ethical...in Age of Technology New Dictionary of History of Ideas Schirmer Ency. of Film St. James Ency. of Popular Culture...and more!

20. A Few Tricks... When you can’t find what you’re looking for on a particular site, use the power of Google to search within the site! Type (search query) site:URL in a Google search. Try Control F (Command F for Mac’s) to find terms on a web page, word doc or PDF Want to learn “how to” do something, Type tutorial:(what you want to know how to do) in a google search. Related:URL gives you Like websites

21. 6. Dig Deep & Analyze Search Results Are your results NOT at all what you’re looking for, NOT specific enough or TOO broad? Adjust your Query accordingly. Look further than the FIRST Page because… Search engines do NOT consider the quality of a site’s content when ranking results Search engines rank results based on your search history and location in order to “personalize results”. This means digging deeper, especially when looking for information that is very different from what the search engine anticipates. Site creators DO optimize content to reach the top of users’ HIT Lists

22. 7. Evaluate the Source! Don’t believe everything you read What’s the Site’s Purpose? Review the complete site and its About Page to try to identify purpose and possible biases. Does the information shared seem to be shared in order to support an ulterior purpose? Is the page covered in ads?

23. Who’s the Author? Is he/she/they credible and reliable? Why might he/she/they have a particular bias? Have they researched their topic thoroughly? What is their purpose for providing information?

24. Is the Information Accurate and Timely? Are original resources provided? Is the information based on research? When was the information last updated? Does the information given match the information provided by other credible resources?

25. Importantly.. If the resource doesn’t provide you with information that you’re looking for, don’t use it! BUT better yet... If the resource does provide you with information that’s useful, credit the person who created it!

26. Plus one for good luck... Ask your librarian for assistance! We’re here for you! Credits: Moran, Marc. Presentation at Fall CUE 2013 on Teaching Web Research. Slide Share. Web. http://www.slideshare.net/sweetsearch/presentation-at- fall-cue-2013-on-teaching-web-research?utm_source=slideshow&utm_campaign=upload_digest&utm_content=buffer37097&utm_medium=twitter