1. Professor Rebecca Thompson Fall 2013
Research Quiz
This “quiz” is designed to introduce students to some of the challenges they may face when searching databases and to introduce the idea of controlled vocabulary in a basic way. I run through the slides asking the students to jot their answers down on a piece of paper. I then return to the beginning and ask them to verbalize their answers, encouraging multiple students to respond (though this usually happens naturally as they hear others give different answers than what they wrote down).
Professor Rebecca Thompson
Fall 2013

2. Use the word “tear” in a short sentence.
I do not read this aloud, simply project it and allow the students to decide whether they will use it as “A tear rolled down her cheek” or “There was a tear in the first page of the book” – occasionally a student will ask for clarification as to which one it is. I usually don’t answer or indicate that they should just choose, depending on the feel of the class.

3. I ask the students to use 1 word to state what this is a picture of
I ask the students to use 1 word to state what this is a picture of. Answers have included earth, world, globe, space, planet

4. Spell the following word:
I verbalize the name “Shawn” (or Sean or Shaun ). Students will sometimes even spell it multiple ways themselves. This is usually when they begin to understand what this quiz is trying to get across.

5. I ask them to write down the profession of the two men in the middle
I ask them to write down the profession of the two men in the middle. Most students use the term lawyer, but occasionally a couple will say attorney.

6. Briefly define the word “Mercury”
This usually gets a wide variety of responses from a car to a planet to a Greed god to an element or metal. This is also the one where many students will verbally react to other definitions, as they realize that they hadn’t considered another possibility.

7. Once we have reviewed each slide as a class, I then present the idea that this is one reason searching databases can seem more challenging than using a web search. Most databases don’t offer spellcheck, so you are the one who has to make sure you have the author’s name or the term spelled correctly. In addition, many databases use something called controlled vocabulary in order to make a search more efficient. Just like tagging in Facebook pictures, tumblr posts, or Twitter hashtags – these terms are designed to help you find things that are more pertinent. However, if you are using “attorney” when the database is using “lawyer” it might seem like there aren’t any results when, in fact, there are. At this point I will show them a database that they might use for the assignment – often a broader database such as Academic Search Premier – and introduce them to the thesaurus tool that many databases offer.
I have them follow along on their own computers and then have them work in small groups or pairs to brainstorm and search for terms related to their assignment using the thesaurus tools and each other’s ideas. This leads into an element of their research worksheet where I ask them to do some sample searches noting how many results they get using different terms. This can also be a good segue into a lesson on Boolean logic.
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