WR121 Instructional Session | May 10, 2016
Click here to add your response and participate in the discussion!
When using the library website to start your assignment, you can focus your attention on the following three Research Tool icons:
- Articles & More....for when you're looking for current information, opinions, peer-reviewed articles, or specific information;
- Encyclopedias & More...for when you don't necessarily need current information, but are still a little unclear on your topic and need background information;
- Resources by Subject...for when you want a comprehensive list of library resources (and websites) relevant just to your topic.
Construct an effective keyword search for your research question.
Protip: You should avoid combining more than four concepts in one search so that you don't get too specific and narrow your results to 0. For example: Should baseball players who are accused of using steroids be banned from the Hall of Fame? My keywords might include the following: baseball, steroids, ban, or Hall of Fame.
Protip: Avoid using relationship words like pro, con, best practice, negative, positive, etc.
But how do you combine those concepts in a library database? Use advanced search techniques, of course!
Boolean operators: Limit your results using AND, expand your results using OR, eliminate unnecessary results using NOT
Protip: make sure to use all caps when using Boolean operators.
example: (baseball OR MLB) AND steroid* AND ban NOT Pete Rose
Truncation: If you're looking for a word with plurals or various endings, try using the truncation command *
example: steroid* will search for results that contain steroid OR steroids OR both!
Phrase Searching: If you want your keywords to appear in a specific order, like a phrase, try using quotation marks ""
example: "Hall of Fame"
Title Searches: Too many results? Using the drop-down menu next to the search bar, limit your search keywords to only appearing in article titles.
Protip: Avoid using relationship words like pro, con, best practice, negative, positive, etc.
But how do you combine those concepts in a library database? Use advanced search techniques, of course!
Boolean operators: Limit your results using AND, expand your results using OR, eliminate unnecessary results using NOT
Protip: make sure to use all caps when using Boolean operators.
example: (baseball OR MLB) AND steroid* AND ban NOT Pete Rose
Truncation: If you're looking for a word with plurals or various endings, try using the truncation command *
example: steroid* will search for results that contain steroid OR steroids OR both!
Phrase Searching: If you want your keywords to appear in a specific order, like a phrase, try using quotation marks ""
example: "Hall of Fame"
Title Searches: Too many results? Using the drop-down menu next to the search bar, limit your search keywords to only appearing in article titles.
Click here to add your response and participate in the discussion!
Start exploring on your own using Barber Library Articles.
Here are suggested article databases to get you started (find from the Articles & More page in the alphabetical list):
- Academic Search Premier...for a mix of news, magazine, and scholarly articles from across many disciplines--a good place to start!
- America's News...for current events--news articles from across the country, including Oregon and Bend.
- CQ Researcher or Opposing Viewpoints in Context...for controversial headline-news to get a variety of sources (news, magazines, video, images, journals) from a variety of perspectives and opinions--perfect for topics about terrorism, vaccinations, minimum wage, etc.
- Resources by Subject....for librarians' suggestions of databases relevant to your topic!
Know how to get help from librarians.
I know that there's a lot of information here, and you might still have questions, even after this session. That's what librarians are for! You can always contact me, but there are also several other options for you to contact any Barber Library librarian.
Just look for this icon or go directly to the Need Help? page under Quick Links and you'll be connected to someone who can help you come up with keywords, cite your sources, choose databases, and help with your general library needs! |