WR65 Instructional Session
How do we tell sources apart?
To know where to start searching, it's important to know what you want to search for! Let's look at two sources and ask how are they different?
Click here to review Source 1
Click here to review Source 2
You don't need to summarize or read these in-depth, just skim through and ask yourself:
Click here to review Source 1
Click here to review Source 2
You don't need to summarize or read these in-depth, just skim through and ask yourself:
- How long do you think it took the author to research, write, and publish the article?
Hours? Days? Weeks? Months? Years? - Can you find the author?
- How did the authors gather the information/evidence used in the article?
Talking to people through interviews? Surveying people through polls? Analyzing numbers through statistics? Reading other articles? Just by writing what they think? Conducting an experiment? Through another option? - Do you think the author's opinion is present in these articles?
- Do you think one of these articles is better than the other?
How do we search in library databases? Is it different than how I would search Google?
Well that depends on how you search Google! But generally, yes, Google is a different kind of tool than a database, which means you search it differently. Do you search Google the same way you search something like Netflix or Hulu? Probably not and that's because Netflix and Hulu are both databases and Google is not!
When you search in a database you want to search only the most important words--I call it Hulkspeak, but you can call it whatever you want! If I type in "I want to watch cooking shows" into Hulu, I get a bunch of stuff--but none of it is relevant to what I want to watch!
When you search in a database you want to search only the most important words--I call it Hulkspeak, but you can call it whatever you want! If I type in "I want to watch cooking shows" into Hulu, I get a bunch of stuff--but none of it is relevant to what I want to watch!
But if I just type in the most important word, "cooking," I get stuff that's a lot more relevant to what I want to watch!
What does that look like in a library database? Well for starters, I want to limit how many words I'm using and make sure I'm only using the most important words to my topic. Are words like "the," "of," "for," "in," etc. important to my topic? Probably not, which means I leave those words out (*ahem*like the Hulk!)
Typically, I'm going to avoid using more than five words in one search (unless I really know what my topic is). But here's another tricky question, should I use words like "impact," "effect," "pro," "con," "negative," "positive"? Well, ask yourself, is effect important to your topic, or would a word that describes the effect be more important? For example, Salem Witch Trial effect, is that a better keyword search than Salem Witch Trial ergot poisoning? Or Salem Witch Trial mass hysteria? Or Salem Witch Trial Puritan religion?
When combining these words in a library database we use something really fancy called Boolean operators--AND, OR, NOT.
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: Salem Witch Trials AND ergot poisoning
example: Salem Witch Trials AND mass hysteria
Can you combine your keywords with Boolean?
Typically, I'm going to avoid using more than five words in one search (unless I really know what my topic is). But here's another tricky question, should I use words like "impact," "effect," "pro," "con," "negative," "positive"? Well, ask yourself, is effect important to your topic, or would a word that describes the effect be more important? For example, Salem Witch Trial effect, is that a better keyword search than Salem Witch Trial ergot poisoning? Or Salem Witch Trial mass hysteria? Or Salem Witch Trial Puritan religion?
When combining these words in a library database we use something really fancy called Boolean operators--AND, OR, NOT.
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: Salem Witch Trials AND ergot poisoning
example: Salem Witch Trials AND mass hysteria
Can you combine your keywords with Boolean?
Once you have your keywords, you are now working with a results page. Sometimes you get too many results, or results that aren't relevant to your search. If you did a search in Amazon, to the left below, to find a phone cover, you might start by typing in phone cover. From you results, you might then filter your results to only show phone covers for a certain brand, or in a certain price range or color. This allows you to take your results from a lot to a more relevant little. Same principle in library databases. This may look different depending on where you search, but you will always have filter options by date, source type, language, etc.
I'm ready to start searching! Where do I look?
If you want to find more source like Source 1 from earlier in this session, you're looking for encyclopedias! You can find encyclopedias one of two ways from the homepage: click on Encyclopedias & More (easy) or click on Resources by Subject, click on Philosophy, Religion, and Ethics, go to the Encyclopedias & More section of that page, and find a relevant encyclopedia (harder but more specific).
Librarian recommended sources for your WR65 Assignment:
Librarian recommended sources for your WR65 Assignment:
- Gale Virtual Reference Library (from Encyclopedias & More)
- Credo Reference (from Encyclopedias & More)
- Witchcraft in America Encyclopedia (from Philosophy, Religion, and Ethics page in the Resources by Subject section)
If you want to find more source like Source 2 from earlier in this session, you're looking for articles! You can find articles one of three ways from the homepage: click on the articles tab on the search bar and start searching (easy, but you're not searching everything!), click on Articles & More (also easy), or click on Resources by Subject, click on a subject related to your topic, go to the Articles & More section of that page, and find a relevant article database (harder but more specific).
Librarian recommended sources for your WR65 Assignment:
Librarian recommended sources for your WR65 Assignment:
- Academic Search Premier (from homepage search bar)
- MasterFILE Premier (from Articles & More)
- History Reference Center (from Articles & More)
- Religion and Philosophy Collection (from Articles & More)
"Fun" tools to use in library databases!
If this wasn't fun enough, the library databases also offer you helpful tools! They look different and might be in different locations on the page, but once you find a result you want and click on it, keep an eye out for tools like these:
Too much? Ask for help!
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.
From the Help page on the library's website, you'll find ways to connect with someone 24/7--we can help you come up with keywords, cite your sources, choose databases, and with your general library needs!
From the Help page on the library's website, you'll find ways to connect with someone 24/7--we can help you come up with keywords, cite your sources, choose databases, and with your general library needs!