1. Welcome to the section dedicated to Key Word Searches. Click on a topic to begin. What is a Key Word Search? Why do I need to know how to use them? How to search your idea How to search using the oppositions idea

2. Key Word Searching, What are they? Key word searches are often referred to as ‘searches’ They have become the standard way to search for materials in electronic formats The program searches files for the ‘key word’ or ‘key word phrase’ in the title or body of the file This allows you the ‘searcher’ to find information at a faster pace This also excludes files from the material you searching

3. Why you need to train in the use of Key Word Searches Key word searches allow a user to access information much faster than if they had to view each file individually However, if used improperly they will limit the materials viewed and accessed The dominant format used at the moment is called a “Boolean” search

4. Boolean Search terms AND is a way of saying both of these things, Dog AND Cat (only objects with both words will appear) OR is a way of saying one of two things must be present, Dog OR Cat (only sites with Dog or Cat will appear) NOT is a way of saying only this one element, Dog NOT Cat (only sites with Dog will appear, all sites with Cat will not appear) “*****” vs ***** Quotes mean the words must appear in that order only, “Princess Diana” (only sites with Princess Diana will appear, sites with Diana the Princess will not appear)

5. Key Word Searching Your Idea How to break down your topic to search. How many ways can you say it? Click on a topic to begin.

6. How to Break it Down There are two main ideas to keep in mind when breaking a topic/concept down for research: Synonyms and the smaller parts Synonyms mean using different words to say the same thing: Mastiff, big dogs, large dogs, large dog breeds, really big dogs Are all ways of searching for material about Mastiffs, a breed of dog.

7. How to Break it Down Cont. The smaller parts mean looking at what is part of the larger topic and using key words from your research If you are researching World War II (WWII) look at the smaller parts of the larger topic and search those words: D-DayNazisHolocaustGermany Axis powersAllied powersBlitzkrieg War in the 1940’s And other topics will help get more information on WWII

8. How many ways can you say it If your topic has multiple words within the concept/topic it can be said different ways to search more ways of saying the topic If you are researching World War II you have multiple options: World War World War II WWII Second World War Major Wars and the concepts of the Break it Down slide

9. The Opposition’s ideas Why should I think about the opposition? How to break down the oppositions idea How many ways can you say it? Click on a topic to begin.

10. Thinking about the other side The opposition is present in all research Opposition means the information and ideas that point to other possibilities or are completely opposite to the idea being presented Knowing the opposition does two main things: lets you know what to research to make your research stronger, and lets you know if you have all the correct information If the opposition says something is true, your research needs to address that it is true, or show that it is not true

11. How many ways can you say it If your topic has multiple words within the concept/topic it can be said different ways to search more ways of saying the topic If you are researching World War II you have multiple options:  World War  World War II  WWII  Second World War  Major Wars …and the concepts of the Break it Down slide

12. How to Break it Down There are two main ideas to keep in mind when breaking a topic/concept down for research: Synonyms and the smaller parts Synonyms mean using different words to say the same thing: Mastiff, big dogs, large dogs, large dog breeds, really big dogs ↑ These synonyms are all ways of searching for material about Mastiffs, a breed of dog.

13. How to Break it Down Cont. The smaller parts mean looking at what is part of the larger topic and using key words from your research If you are researching World War II (WWII) look at the smaller parts of the larger topic and search those words: D-DayNazisHolocaust GermanyAxis powersAllied powers BlitzkriegWar in the 1940’s And other topics will help get more information on WWII